I Kill Monsters
by LastCorsair
Summary: When school weirdo Ruby Rose saves Weiss Schnee from a monster, Weiss learns that there's more to the strange, reclusive girl than meets the eye. (High school/urban fantasy AU, with eventual white rose.)
1. Chapter 1

Weiss sat in her Film Theory class. Frankly, the subject held little to no interest for her, but it should be an easy A, and serve to keep her GPA at stratospheric levels undreamed of by the other merely mortal students at Beacon Academy. The credits rolled on the semester's first film, _The Shawshank Redemption,_ and their instructor, Doctor Oobleck (although what he was a doctor _of_ exactly no-one seemed to know) turned on the lights. The rest of the students scattered around the dingy lecture hall stretched and groaned as they roused themselves from the semi-torpor they'd descended into while watching the film. "Well, students, that was our first film of the semester. Now, my first question to you is this: Who is the protagonist of this film?"

Weiss raised her hand, a smug smile on her face. It was always good to start off a class by impressing the teacher with a correct answer. Oobleck pointed at her, and she answered "Andy Dufresne, sir."

"Very good, Miss Schnee. Now-"

"But he's not."

The entire room turned to look at the figure in the back row, hunched under her red hoodie with the hood pulled up, covering her face. Oobleck frowned. "Ah, a contrary hypothesis, Miss...?"

"Rose, Ruby Rose."

Weiss groaned as Oobleck pushed up his glasses. Of _course_ , it was school weirdo Ruby Rose who had spoken up. She was always hiding in the back of the classroom, not seeming to pay attention to the class as she wrote or drew in one of her countless notebooks, the right answer to whatever question the instructor posed tumbling carelessly from her lips despite her obvious distraction."So wonderful to hear one of the new faces in the class this year speak up. Now, what makes you say that Andy Dufresne is _not_ the protagonist of this particular film, and instead, who would you put forth in his place?"

"Because Andy's obviously the antagonist. Red's the protagonist," Ruby muttered, her hand chin resting on her hand.

Oobleck sipped his coffee with an _hmm._ "Ah, I see. Most people would say that the warden is the antagonist, but why do you place Andy in that role?"

"Because he's the disruptor. Everyone is happy, just trying to get through their time at Shawshank, but along comes Andy, changing everything. Red's just cruising along, serving his time, the warden's just doing his job. Then along comes Andy, disrupting the order of things at Shawshank. It's Andy who enables the Warden's corruption, then drives him to suicide by exposing it." Ruby slouched back in her chair, clearly uncomfortable by the attention of everyone in the room.

"I see, I see. Alright then, I do love to see someone thinking in an unconventional direction. Therefore, I am changing the first writing assignment for this first film. I want five hundred words discussing the possibility that Andy Dufresne is not this film's protagonist but its antagonist. Due upon our next class period on Thursday. That is, everyone but Miss Rose. Miss Rose, I want one _thousand_ words defending your premise. Class dismissed."

* * *

Weiss was scowling that afternoon as she stalked the corridors of the southwest hall of Beacon. Beacon had literally been open for hundreds of years, and the southwest hall was one of the oldest buildings still standing on campus, if not _the_ oldest. The lighting seemed to go out with little or no notice, the wiring was questionable at best, and large sections of it seemed to be under perpetual renovation. Frankly, Weiss was surprised it was still standing, much less still used.

But used it was, mostly for storage, or club activities that didn't merit or couldn't swing the use of space in a newer building. Or, as in the case of Weiss' current mission, one-on-one tutoring sessions between students. Vice principal Goodwitch had neglected to tell her who she'd be tutoring this time, only informing Weiss that student in question was excelling in most other areas but currently struggling with algebra.

Unfortunately, the room they'd been assigned was in the basement, one of the most unpleasant parts of the building still in use. Now, where was it? B-17, B-18, aha! Room B-19, the numbers barely visible on the worn brass plaque on the door. Steeling herself, Weiss put her best 'helpful and friendly' smile on her face and gripped the doorknob, twisting it to open the door and step inside.

Unfortunately, the student within was her nemesis from film theory class this morning. "What are _you_ doing here?" she shrieked at the figure in the red hoodie seated at the table in the center of the room.

"Getting tutored in algebra," Ruby muttered, shrinking in more on herself, something Weiss wouldn't have thought possible. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Tutoring you in algebra, apparently," Weiss sighed, taking a deep, calming breath. No wonder Goodwitch had neglected to inform her as to who she'd be tutoring.

"Great," Ruby muttered again, closing the notebook she'd been writing in and pulling her textbook out of her bag. "I'm being tutored by queen bitch Weiss Schnee."

"I'm not thrilled about having to tutor the school weirdo, either, Ruby Rose. But, we can't always like everything we have to do, so let's call a truce and see if I can help you with algebra. Now, where do you feel you're struggling?

"Polynomials. I, uh, I have trouble factoring them," Ruby admitted as she flipped open the textbook.

Weiss nodded and the two of them got to work. After an hour, Weiss stood, stretching. Something scurried in one of the dim corners of the room, making her glance over. "They should just demolish old building this old building and get it over with," Weiss muttered under her breath, making Ruby laugh.

"What's the matter, afraid of a few mice, princess?" Ruby snarked as she worked her way through a problem Weiss had set up for her.

"No, I simply do not enjoy being forced to learn in a building that is a safety hazard and should have been condemned before either of us were born." Again something scurried in the corner of her eye, making Weiss' head snap to look at it.

The same motion drew Ruby's eye, making her reach into her backpack and pull out something mechanical and complicated. Weiss rolled her eyes. Whatever Ruby had pulled out even had glowing blue runes painted on it. Before Weiss say something biting about the ridiculous object, something moved again just on the edge of Weiss' vision.

This time, she managed to get a good look at it, but what she saw made Weiss step back. It was some sort of _monster,_ its shape a grotesque mockery of a man's, the skin inky black, red eyes boring a hole straight to her soul from a head like a bony skull, more bone spikes jutting out of its arms and shoulders at seemingly random intervals. "What the hell is that? Tell me you see that!" the white-haired girl screamed as the thing snarled at her.

Without answering, Ruby vaulted over the table, the object she'd pulled from her backpack unfolding and extending into some sort of a polearm with a curved blade. "Weiss, you need to run," she whispered, jabbing at the creature with her blade.

"Like hell I am," was the response, Weiss grabbing a chair and swinging it at the creature in what she thought was a threatening manner.

"Weiss, just go!" Ruby shouted at Weiss, and the beast took advantage of her moment of distraction to lunge at Ruby, claws slashing at her, jaws wide open in a snarl, Ruby fending it off with her polearm.

Weiss danced around it to bring the chair down as hard as she could on the creature's back. Enraged, it lashed out with a claw, shattering the chair into splinters as it turned back to Ruby. Weiss rolled across the floor, grabbing one of the largest, sharpest pieces on her way by. Coming to her feet, she brought it up like it was a rapier, then jabbed forward, driving the point about where its rib cage would have been. The thing screamed, swatting at Weiss, but she dodged out of the way, cursing as the heels she wore made her stumble.

Ruby took advantage of the monster turning its attention toward Weiss to dart in with the weird polearm, stabbing the creature in its chest. "Pull and twist," Weiss snapped, fending off another claw swipe with her improvised weapon.

"Say what?" Ruby asked as she blocked off a retaliatory strike with the haft of her weapon.

"Next time you jab that, that _thing_ in with that overgrown can-opener of yours, twist before you pull the blade out, it'll do more damage."

Ruby's eyes lit up in realization. "Oh!" she said, matching her actions to Weiss' words, stabbing the monster in its belly. "And it's called a Grimm. More specifically, a Ghoul."

"No, that sort of weapon is called a naginata," Weiss said, jabbing the monster in its arm. She might not do a lot of damage to it, but she could at least help distract it from Ruby.

"Not the weapon, the monster," Ruby said, swinging her weapon high at the monster's neck.

Weiss yelped as she reflexively ducked, not expecting the strike to connect, but the monster's head went flying, the red stump spewing… black smoke? As she watched, the monster's body collapsed on the ground, its skin erupting in more black smoke. "What. Was. That?" she bit out, each syllable a hammer-blow to the shy girl as she glared at Ruby. "How do you know it's called a Grimm? And why do you carry a, a collapsing naginata in your backpack? And why in the hell is it covered in glowing runes? Honestly, I can almost, almost accept decorating a weapon, there are some exquisite Renaissance dueling swords in the city's museum of history, but glowing blue runes? You really are a weirdo, Ruby Rose. Start explaining, now, or I am taking this straight to Vice Principal Goodwitch."

"Uh…" Ruby said, backing up from Weiss. _Oh hell._

* * *

 **Ruby, you got some 'splaining to do!**

 **This story was brought to you by watching random things on YouTube because I couldn't sleep. Somehow I wandered across the trailer for _I Kill Giants_ , and my sleep-deprived brain mixed it up with RWBY. (Although it's not really a crossover fic, because I haven't actually seen _I Kill Giants._ )**


	2. Chapter 2

"Well?" Weiss crossed her arms, scowling at the hoodie-clad younger girl in front of her. "That monster could have killed both of us, and if you've been keeping them a secret, then you're going to be in big trouble! People who keep secrets that get other people hurt or killed get locked away, Ruby. I wonder how you'll look in prison orange."

Ruby's weapon clattered to the ground, the girl backing into the table behind her, muttering under her breath, her head jerking from side to side, looking left and right, anywhere but straight at Weiss but mostly at the door.

A shiver ran down Weiss's spine at the realization that Ruby Rose, who had jumped to her defense against a monster without a second thought, was _terrified_ of her.

Weiss had been called many things. Graceful, intelligent, attractive, talented. Never before would she have described herself with the word 'bully.'

Just.

Like.

 _Him._

Unconsciously Weiss rubbed at her left wrist as her mind cast around desperately for what to do next.

"I..." Suddenly the white-haired girl's mouth was drier than the depths of the most desolate desert on Remnant. "I'm sorry, Ruby, I didn't mean… I didn't mean to yell at you, I was just… I was frightened by the monster, and I thought…. I'm not sure what I thought," Weiss finished weakly, sitting on the table next to Ruby.

"Nobody's ever seen them before," whispered Ruby.'

"How could they not? It's right there!" Weiss said, shaking her head and jabbing a finger at where the monster… had been? While she'd been talking to Ruby, the monster's corpse had, what, evaporated? "I don't… but it was… I _saw_ it!"

"When a Grimm dies, they just sort of… evaporate, like dry ice or something. Most people can't even see them or touch them, and most of them aren't big enough or strong enough to attack people like that one attacked you. I, I've been fighting them, all alone for my entire life, and, and nobody but you has ever really _seen_ one of them before," Ruby sobbed, collapsing against Weiss. "And you hate me."

The white-haired girl sighed. "Ruby, I don't hate you." Weiss wasn't really good at the whole empathy thing; frankly, she was downright terrible, but it was obvious that Ruby needed some form of reassurance. She wrapped her arms around Ruby's shoulders, in a vague hope that it would be comforting. "I was angry and scared, and I lashed out at you when I shouldn't have." An uncomfortable thought crossed Weiss's mind. There were rumors around school that Ruby had been institutionalized at one point… "Why don't you explain everything to me, from the beginning. Take your time. I, I know what it's like not to be believed."

"O-okay," Ruby sniffed, wiping her face on the sleeve on her hoodie. "But not here. Would you, could we go to my house? I've got, well, I've got all my books and stuff there. Do you, do you have the cash for bus fare? We, we've missed the school bus, but the city bus goes out by my house. Uh, it's a long ride, though. And kind of a walk from the stop to my house." She winced; she wasn't exactly selling coming to her house, was she?

Weiss rolled her eyes. "No, Ruby, I don't have the cash for bus fare."

"I can lend you some-"

"I have a car."

* * *

Ruby's arms were wrapped tightly around herself as Weiss drove them down the heavily forested road outside of town to Ruby's house. What was she thinking? Yeah, she knew who Weiss was, but she was just a face in the crowd, a total stranger, and here Ruby was, was about to explain everything to her? She shivered. Maybe, maybe it wasn't too late to call it off, have Weiss drop her off at the side of the road. They were only a couple of miles from Ruby's house, she could walk that far if she had to.

No, no, if Ruby explained now, not at school, she could keep Weiss from freaking out about, well, everything. Weiss had seen the Ghoul, right? And, and not been scared, not really. Weiss had seemed angrier at getting attacked by the Grimm than anything, so mad that she'd even attacked it with a chair, and then part of a chair. Okay, she'd yelled at Ruby afterward, but she hadn't meant anything by it, right? Anybody would want answers after getting attacked by a monster out of nowhere, right? Besides, Weiss already knew Ruby's address.

"We're here." Ruby blinked and looked up. While she'd been trying to convince herself that this was a good idea, Weiss had brought the car to a stop in front of a heavy metal farm gate, suspended between a pair of titanic oak trees. "I don't see a house; I assume it's farther up the road?"

Ruby laughed. "Oh, good grief. Your GPS brought us in the back way onto my dad's property. You'll have to turn around; that gate doesn't work."

Weiss bit off a curse and put the car in reverse, twisting around in her seat to look out the rear window as she backed them out, looking for somewhere to turn around.

Finally, they made their way through the front gate and in front of the house. Ruby tried not to cringe as Weiss looked up at her home. It was an old farmhouse and looked it, dating back to the days when farming families had lots of kids to help work the farm. Now it was a relic, the fields that had surrounded it overgrown and wild, already beginning to be reclaimed by the forest. She supposed that one day, the house itself would fall under the verdant assault.

Gingerly Ruby opened the door and hopped out. Weiss's car was so pristine and new, she'd almost felt as if she was desecrating it with her mere presence, but all Weiss had said as they got into the car was to ask for Ruby's address and remind her to buckle up. "Come on," Ruby said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "My, uh, workshop is set up in a corner of the old barn."

The battered weather-worn appearance of the barn gave Weiss serious doubts about its structural integrity. Inside, Ruby led her into what had probably once been a tack room but now looked like someone had set off an explosion in a conspiracy theorist's lair. Photographs and sketches and maps with all sorts of things written on them covered the walls. Papers and notebooks and old heavy leather-bound books were stacked on every conceivable surface. The only really clear spots were a framed copy of a movie poster Weiss recognized on the back of the door and what looked like a memorial shrine tucked into one corner. Even the lone chair was full of stuff until Ruby cleaned it off and gestured for Weiss to sit, hopping up on a table. "So, uh, do you want coffee, or maybe some water?"

Weiss quirked an eyebrow. "There's running water out here?"

"Yep," Ruby answered nervously. "Grandpa used to build all sorts of stuff out here until he died. I, uh, I used his old workshop to make Requiem's Whisper," she finished, hopping off the table and fussing with the coffee pot once she'd unearthed it from the debris.

Weiss sipped the end result carefully, watching Ruby as she fidgeted with her own cup. She was in no hurry. Eventually, the brunette sighed. "I've been seeing them my whole life, really. When I was little, everyone thought it was just the monster under the bed getting a little out of control, that I'd grow out of it, you know? But it didn't stop, it got worse. I kept seeing bigger and scarier ones, but I learned not to tell anyone because nobody ever believed me. Well, almost nobody.

"Before, before grandpa died a couple of years ago and left this place to my dad, we lived in town. Growing up, my best friend was a girl named Penny who lived just down the street. She was the one person who didn't call me weird for saying I saw the Grimm.

"One day, we were playing in her backyard, and, um, a Grimm, a big one, maybe a Ghoul, I don't know, came out from under the bushes. They can do that, some of them, contort and compress themselves to squeeze into places you wouldn't believe. It crept over to her, and stood there, caressing her face with its claws. Penny just sat there, holding my hands and telling me not to be afraid of it, that being afraid of it gave it power over me, but I was still scared. I just sat there, frozen with fear, listening to her voice. And then it gave me a freaky sort of smile and ripped her throat out. It was the first time I'd ever seen one really hurt someone.

"I sat there, covered in her blood, not even screaming or anything, just sat there while it jumped over the fence. Her mother found us just like that.

"That's when I started hunting them. I read old books about demons and monsters, studied their movements, where they nested, where they hung around people to pester them, everything. I tried things on the little ones first, then I moved onto bigger, meaner prey. I got bolder and bolder, set traps, made weapons, eventually, well," the brunette gestured at her backpack, where the weapon she'd used to fight the Grim was stowed, once again in its compact form.

"Mm. But no-one ever sees them, no matter what they do?" Weiss sipped her coffee carefully. Messy this place might be, but Ruby could make a good cup of coffee.

"Yeah. The little ones harass people, trip them, make them drop things, scratch them so someone will scratch their face without even thinking about it." Ruby sighed. "The big ones, well..." Ruby's eyes turned toward the memorial in the corner and Weiss understood.

"She wasn't their last victim, was she?"

"No. I saw them trip someone once, made her fall down a flight of stairs. She broke her arm. And I'm not sure about this, but there was someone that was being stalked by one. It, it just kept harassing him, getting bigger and bolder. Eventually, he fell from the roof of his apartment building, I'm not sure if he jumped or was pushed."

Weiss shivered. No wonder Ruby was such a mess if she'd been living with this for years. "Fine. Now listen, Ruby: _You are not crazy._ You see things no-one else does, but imagine if you were the only person that could hear in a world full of deaf people. They'd probably think there was something wrong with you. I've seen one too, I fought it." Weiss stood, and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, making the younger girl look up at her. "Now, who are you?"

"I'm, I'm Ruby Rose?" Ruby answered, the confusion in her voice making the statement a question.

"And what do you do?"

"I… hunt monsters."

"Wrong," Weiss snapped. "You don't just hunt them, you _kill_ them. Say it."

"I… kill monsters."

"Again, like you mean it."

"I kill monsters."

"Again."

"I kill monsters."

"Now, say them both together. Who are you, and what do you do?"

"I'm Ruby Rose, and I kill monsters." Ruby's voice had gotten less shaky with every repetition until she was grinning at Weiss.

"Louder."

"I'm Ruby Rose, and I kill monsters!" Ruby half-shouted and Weiss was amazed at the way Ruby was transformed just by saying it out loud. It was almost as if the other girl had been under a terrible curse, lifted only by shouting the secret she most desperately tried to keep.

"That's right. And a good hunter knows how to blend in, to not be seen until it's time to strike." Weiss sighed, there was probably no good way to say what she needed to say next. "Ruby, at school, everyone thinks you're… weird because of the way you act. I take it the reason behind some of your odd behavior is hunting Grimm? Okay, you need to work on that. If you're acting strange people are going to notice, and one thing you don't want when hunting monsters no-one else can see is being noticed. Not only because they could get in the way, but bringing prey near monsters means they could get hurt."

Ruby opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Weiss continued. "Ruby, I believe you, but until we can convince someone else, we have to keep this quiet. I'll help you blend in a little better, maybe apply some organization to this rat's nest, and you, you're going to teach me what you know about Grimm, about fighting them." Weiss took the hand from Ruby's shoulder, grabbing what looked like an oddly-decorated cutlass from the table and holding it up.

"Because it's not just you anymore. Now I kill monsters too."

Ruby sat there, mouth open, and before Weiss could object, she'd jumped off the table and had her arms wrapped around the white-haired girl, the sword clattering to the ground, muttering the words, "Thank you," over and over again. Finally, Ruby pulled away, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her hoodie, and said, "But, but aren't you scared, Weiss? Aren't, aren't you afraid to fight them?"

"Terrified. But that doesn't mean I'm not angry, that I won't fight with you. Now, first thing: Your hoodie."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It's got to go, at least at school."

"Say what?" Ruby wrapped her arms around herself, clutching at the fabric. "But, but it keeps me safe."

"You don't need that to be safe. You're a fearsome monster-killer, remember? Besides, wearing that instead of the school uniform jacket makes you stand out. Think of it as… protective camouflage, blending in with your prey's prey until it's time to strike. Now, off it comes."

After Weiss had pulled the baggy hoodie off and Weiss got a really good look at her, she couldn't help but think that Ruby was really rather pretty. Something of a late bloomer, perhaps, but Weiss wouldn't be surprised if Ruby was turning heads in a few years. "Okay, now where's your jacket?"

"In, in my room, in the closet, I think," Ruby said nervously, wrapping her arms around herself again.

"We'll find it. Now, arms by your side. And no looking down. Head up, eyes open. How else are you going to spot your prey? Stand up straight as well, no slouching. Remember, you're just a normal girl like everyone else. There, that's better. Ah, ah, ah, no clenching your hands either."

As they stood there, looking at each other, a voice came from the doors to the barn. "Ruby, are you out here? Is someone with you? I didn't recognize the car out front."

Glancing at Weiss, Ruby yelled back, "Yeah, me and Weiss are in here. She gave me a ride home."

A head bearing a familiar mane of blonde hair peered through the door. "Oh come on, why would Weiss Schn-oh. Uh, hi, Weiss, didn't expect to see you here, Ruby never brings people over. Are you staying for dinner?"

"I should-" Weiss said, but Ruby interrupted. "Oh come on, Weiss, stay. It's dad's night to cook, and he's made a pot of his awesome all-day chili." And then Ruby decided to deploy the ultimate weapon.

Puppy-dog eyes. How could Weiss be expected to resist puppy-dog eyes? It was totally unfair, probably against the Geneva convention or something like that. "Fine," Weiss relented, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"Great, I guess. I'll go set an extra place for dinner. Oh, Blake's going to be here too," Yang tossed back at them before she shut the door to the barn.

Weiss cocked an eyebrow at Ruby. "That, that brute is your sister?"

"Half-sister," Ruby muttered with a groan. "Same dad, different mothers."

"I see." Well, that explained how the two of them could be related, they were as different as night and day. "Wait, Blake? As in Blake Belladonna? The campus champion of brooding?"

"The very same," Ruby sighed as she picked up her hoodie, starting to pull it back on before sighing again, pulling the hoodie back off and folding it over her arm. "And also the person my sister is absolutely and totally not dating, despite them spending every possible waking moment together."

The white-haired girl's brow furrowed. "They're dating, aren't they?"

"They're totally dating; they just think they're doing an incredible job of hiding it. Guess how many meals they don't eat together in a week?"

"Not many?"

"I'm guessing the number's somewhere around eight. Breakfast every day and lunch on Sunday. About the only person that might not know is dad, and that might be because he's deliberately not paying attention. Come on, you can meet dad while I get out of my uniform."

Ruby's dad proved to be a smiling blonde man who laughed when Weiss called him sir and told her his name was Taiyang Xiao Long, but to call him Tai. "Yeah, the girls have different mothers, but, uh," Tai looked around to make sure neither of his girls was in earshot, "we don't really talk about either one of them. Yang's mother, Raven, she left not long after Yang was born. And Ruby's mom, well, she died when the girls were both little. What about your family, Weiss?"

Weiss fixed a smile on her face while she helped set the table. "My younger brother and I live in Vale with my mother, and my older sister is in the United Kingdoms armed forces."

Tai grunted, noting that Weiss didn't mention her father. Not something to ask about, then.

The chili smelled heavenly, and Weiss was just lifting the first spoonful to her lips when the front door opened. "Sorry I'm late, my dad caught me on my way out the doo-oh. What's _she_ doing here?" Blake stood there, hands on her hips, glaring at Weiss.''

"That's my question," Yang muttered, glaring at Weiss.

"Hey, we have not one guest, but two, so let's all be nice. Although I will admit being curious about why you're here myself, Weiss." Tai gave her a bemused smile.

She answered Tai's smile with one of her own. "No mystery, sir. Ruby and I share several classes, and today Ruby voiced an interesting theory about the film we're currently discussing in Film Theory class. We were discussing that. It doesn't hurt that I was also assigned as Ruby's algebra tutor." Something she'd seen in Ruby's 'workshop' (although it more closely resembled a packrat's lair) and she smiled at the brunette. "As a matter of fact, Ruby, I noticed you have a poster from the original release of _The Crimson Butterfly._ I happen to have a copy of the original theatrical cut, if you're interested."

Ruby paused, the spoon in her mouth. "Thuh owigianl cut?" She swallowed and tried again. "The original cut? The one that got pulled from theaters?"

"The very same."

"Oh hell yeah! I thought they'd all been destroyed! Of course, I want to see it! How in the hell did you get your hands on one?" Ruby was looking at Weiss with stars in her eyes. "It's my favorite movie!"

"What's the big deal?" Yang asked with her mouth full, earning her a glare from Blake, whose chair was a fair bit closer to Yang's than Weiss' was to Ruby's. "It's just some dumb movie that was old before dad was born."

"Some dumb movie? Some dumb movie?!" Weiss knew she was starting to shriek and knew it. "The writer, the director, the producer, hell, three-quarters of the production staff and a sizable chunk of the studio management went to jail over it being made! It's, well, it's gloriously beautiful in the horror of its making alone. You really are a brute!"

Ruby patted Weiss on the arm. "It's okay, Weiss, I'll watch it with you."

After dinner, Ruby walked Weiss to her car. "Are you sure you're okay with the whole monster-hunting thing? It's, well, it's kinda weird, overall."

Weiss nodded. "I'm more okay with hunting them that leaving them alone to hurt people, Ruby. Now," as they reached Weiss's car, she turned and took Ruby's hand. "Two things to remember: First, you aren't alone in this, not anymore. I'm with you. And second, we want to blend in until it's time to strike. The best trap is one you spring on someone else. Now, who are you and what do you do?"

"I'm Ruby Rose. And I kill monsters."


	3. Chapter 3

" _Are you seeing the monsters again, friend Ruby?"_

 _Startled, Ruby looked up from where she sat huddled on the bench swing, her arms wrapped around herself "Oh, you're back, Penny. Yeah, th-there's a lot of them around, today. And some of em are pretty big, grownup-sized, even. Everything okay?"_

 _Penny nodded, her coppery curls bobbing with her head. "Yes, everything is fine. Mother just wanted to check my medication levels, that is all."  
_

 _Ruby broke out in a big grin. She wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with Penny, it was a long, complicated thing Ruby couldn't say much less spell, but Penny was on a lot of medications and had to have constant monitoring. There, that was a big word Ruby could say and spell. "Then come on, let's play!"_

 _The two girls ran around the yard chasing each other. Ruby tripped, landing face-first on the ground. She picked herself up and wiped the back of her new dress across her face to clear away the dirt and grass. Then she saw it._

 _Creeping out from under one of the bushes came a big one, at least as tall as Ruby's dad, maybe bigger. She froze in terror, hoping it wouldn't notice her noticing it, and just go away. Sometimes the bigger ones, the smarter ones, they got really mad if they figured out Ruby was watching, Or at least they seemed to. The monster stood up to its full height and surveyed the yard, mouth open in a grotesque silent mockery of laughter._

 _"Friend Ruby are you injured?" Suddenly Penny was kneeling in front of Ruby, a frown on her face. "I shall summon Mother, she is quite medically competent."_

 _"No." Before her friend could rise, Ruby's hand shot out, latching onto her wrist. "A-a big one, it just came out from under a bush, right behind you," she whispered._

 _Penny nodded, gently prying Ruby's hand off her wrist. "I understand. Do you know what mother says about monsters? She says that monsters can't hurt you if you're not afraid of them. Do you think you can be brave if I'm with you?" The copper-haired girl took Ruby's hands in hers, emerald green eyes meeting silver. "I'll be with you as long as you need me, Ruby. You sat with me the last time I had to have tests done, it's the least I can do."_

 _Before Ruby could answer, the monster was kneeling over Penny, running its unnaturally long fingers through her hair, bone-white claws caressing her face. Penny smiled. "You make me feel so brave, Ruby, seeing the things you do and just, just going on. You're stronger than I think I could ever be. Now please, sit up."_

 _Ruby sat up on her knees, afraid to let go of Penny's hands, even for a moment, scared beyond belief that doing so would spell her friend's doom. But even as she did so, the monster was looking her in the eye. Her hear started pounding as she realized that it had noticed her noticing it. Again it threw it's head to one side, mocking her with silent laughter, running its fingers across Penny's face in a mockery of an affectionate gesture. "Please leave," Ruby whispered at it, desperation making her words a prayer._

 _For a moment, the monster sat there, frozen in place. Then with a single, swift motion, it drew the claws of both its hands across Penny's throat, spraying Ruby with her friend's blood._

* * *

 _BWEET-BWEET-BWEET!_

Ruby groaned as she reached over to slap the alarm clock, silencing it. It had been a long time since she had _that_ particular nightmare. Ruby laid there, arm hanging off the side of the bed, wondering what had urged he subconscious to revisit the day Penny had died.

Bam-bam-bam, someone was hammering on her bedroom door. "Come on Ruby, dad's already cooking breakfast. I know you're awake, you turned your alarm off. Better get there before I eat it all!"

Ruby sighed. How could her sister be such a, such a, such a morning person? It was unnatural, that's what it was. She rolled out of bed and stood up, stretching as she regarded the day ahead of her. Same as usual, being mocked and made fun of for seeing things no-one else saw.

Well, almost no-one else. Now Weiss had seen one, even fought it with her. That one thing cheered Ruby up more than, more than, well, more than fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies, and before that, Ruby would have sworn that was impossible! Smiling (and Ruby couldn't remember the last time she'd done _that_ ), she started getting dressed quickly. Out of habit, she reached for her hoodie, only to stop herself mid-motion. Ruby Rose, school weirdo, and social pariah hid her pain from the world with a hoodie. But Ruby Rose, monster slayer and secret guardian against the darkness didn't need to hide. Look out world, here came Ruby 2.0! Or should that be Ruby the Second? Ruby Reborn? Eh, it didn't matter anyway. What mattered most was that today, for the first time in probably forever, Ruby didn't feel like a freak, thanks to Weiss.

Frowning, she opened her closet and started rummaging around. Ruby'd worn her uniform jacket, no it was supposed to be called a blazer, for reasons Ruby couldn't remember, for like a total of two weeks her first year at Beacon before retreating beneath her hoodie. Blah, it needed a lint brush, bad. And it was a little small now. Well, Ruby had been growing, after all. Okay, bug dad about a new blazer, check. She looked at herself in the mirror, straightening her blazer and reminding herself to stand up straight.

As Ruby turned to go down to breakfast, something caught her eye on her dresser. Shoved off to one side was a pile of makeup. Yang and Blake kept buying them for her, offering to show her how to use it, but Ruby really hadn't seen the point. Why should she pretty herself up when nobody was going to be interested in the school freak? Maybe, maybe if she could learn to act normal enough, she could catch someone's eye. But she wouldn't be able to hunt Grimm then. They'd run rampant, hurting people, sometimes even killing them.

A sweet seductive voice whispered in the corner of her mind. _You've been fighting so long,_ it sang, _haven't you earned a rest? What harm could it do to be just like everyone else for a while, to remind yourself what you're fighting for?_ Ruby shoved the thought firmly aside. She knew what she was fighting for, she was fighting for Penny and everyone else the Grimm had ever hurt. No, if she ever got together with someone, it was going to have to be someone who would let her keep fighting the monsters, maybe even someone who fought them too. If Weiss could see them now, maybe someone else could, too? One becomes two, two becomes… more?

She shrugged. Worry about that later. Right now, breakfast.

* * *

Yang looked up as she heard Ruby's footsteps on the stairs. Something about her sister's footsteps was… different. Instead of her usual sullen shuffle, Ruby's steps were quick, lively, more like she'd been before she went away. Maybe her sister was getting back to her old self. Then Ruby came around the corner into the dining room, and Yang couldn't help but stare for a moment before she shut her mouth hard and forced herself to pay attention to her breakfast. Even then she caught herself sneaking peeks at her sister out of the corner of her eye.

Instead of hunching over her food like a vulture waiting for a potential meal to expire, picking at it sullenly, Ruby was sitting up and tucking into her food like she actually had an appetite. Her hair actually looked like it'd been brushed that morning and she was wearing the blazer for her school uniform instead of the threadbare red hoodie that had been a constant part of her wardrobe for over a year. Yang couldn't remember the last time Ruby had left the house without it.

Ruby burped, giggled (giggled!), and with an embarrassed tone in her voice, asked, "I don't suppose there's enough for seconds?"

Taiyang beamed at her. "Sure, kiddo. You're in a good mood this morning." He served her up another plate, then frowned. "That jacket's looking a little small, Ruby. Think it might be time for a new one."

"It's a blazer, dad. And yeah, I noticed that myself this morning."

Yang blinked. That was probably the most she'd heard her sister say at breakfast in, years, probably. "You doing okay, Ruby?"

Her sister gave her a suffering look. "I'm fine, Yang."

"But-" Yang started to say, only to have their dad frown at her. Later, then.

Ruby's phone chimed, and she pulled it out, glancing at the message and typing out a reply before putting it away. "Who was that?" Yang asked. Maybe she could play detective, figure out what was up with her baby sis.

"Weiss," Ruby answered, around a mouthful of pancake.

"And what does the ice queen wan-ow!" Yang yelped as Taiyang bopped her on the head with a spoon.

"Ruby doesn't have to tell us, Yang. And it's good that she's making friends. She needs more friends."

"Pfft, she doesn't need more friends, she's got me and Blake." Speak of the devil, Yang's phone meowed at her, and she pulled it out with a grin. "Whoops, she's here, I gotta go. You want a ride, Ruby?" She made the offer out of habit, knowing dad expected it, knowing her sister wouldn't accept and she could sneak in a few minutes alone with Blake before school.

"Actually, yeah. Weiss wants to talk to me before school."

* * *

Thankfully, Ruby jumped out as soon as Blake parked her Jeep, heading for the courtyard near the school entrance. Blake and Yang sagged in their seats in relief. The ride to school had been notably tense, with neither of them sure what to make of this intruder into what had become their 'alone time' before school and Blake glaring at Yang periodically. "Yang..." Blake began, but Yang interrupted.

"Look, I offered her a ride, like I do every morning because dad expects me to. How was I supposed to know she'd actually take me up on it for once? I'm sorry, babe, I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"But that means I have to wait until after school," Blake growled, knowing she was sulking and hating it even as she did so.

Yang fought back a sigh. "You know, we could just tell everyone. Or stop hiding it and let them figure it out."

"You know I can't," Blake snapped, looking out the window.

"Hey." She looked back at Yang as the blonde laid a hand on her arm. "When you're ready, you're ready. I just, I get tired of keeping it a secret, sometimes. I want everyone to know how much I love you, that's all.

"Ruby was acting weird this morning too, on top of what you saw. Usually, she doesn't do much more than grunt at breakfast, but this morning she spoke whole sentences. Plus she not only finished all her food, she asked for seconds."

"Oh, so you only got thirds, instead of fourths and fifths?" Blake teased, turning her head away from the window with a small smile.

"Hey, it takes a lot of fuel to be this awesome!"

* * *

Ruby found Weiss sitting on a bench off to one side of the courtyard, hidden from view by a majestic oak tree. "You wanted to see me, Weiss?"

The white-haired girl's head was down, her fists clenched in rage. "My house," she choked out, "my house is crawling with Grimm, little ones, about the size of my hand. I, I killed some in my room, otherwise I couldn't sleep. I think, I think I left my sword stuck in a wall, I was so tired this morning I forgot to put it away."

Oh, hell. Ruby hadn't even thought about that. She sat down on the bench, forcing Weiss' hand open, sliding her fingers between the other girl's, and trying not to wince when Weiss's hand closed around hers in a death-grip. "I'm sorry, Weiss, I didn't even think of what it would be like to go home for you. I've got, I've got some ways to take care of the little ones, wards, traps, that sort of thing."

"Wards?" Weiss let go of Ruby's hand, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She cursed herself for her weakness even as she was grateful for the presence of the one person that could really understand.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, while I was researching the Grimm, I managed to piece together some magic that actually works. Not big showy stuff, but things that help keep out Grimm, sometimes even kill the little ones. Requiem's Sigh even has some enchantments on it. One of them helps people not notice it. Kind of a magic Somebody Else's Problem field."

"A what?" Weiss sniffed, giving Ruby a puzzled look. "And I thought that ridiculous weapon was called Requiem's Whisper?"

"Eh, the name's a work in progress." Something Weiss had said a moment ago clicked with yesterday's events. "Hey, have you done sword training? Yesterday you fought with that chair leg like it was a sword, and you just said you had a sword, so..."

Weiss nodded, regaining her composure. "I have done fencing with various weapons, and even competed at the kingdom level, here and in Atlas. It's been over a year since practiced, however. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking one of the first things we might want to do was get you your own weapon. Not sure if we can adapt the sword you have or if we'll need to make a new one. Might want to start thinking of a name. An enchanted monster-slaying weapon needs a name. But first, we need to ward and trap your house. Even if it's just so you can get a good nights sleep. A tired hunter is a poor hunter, after all."

"Huntress." Weiss took a deep breath, straightening her posture. "I think I prefer the term Huntress. And thank you, Ruby."

"No problem." The younger girl beamed at her. "We're partners, aren't we?"


	4. Chapter 4

Ruby sat on the couch in her living room, fighting to keep from checking her phone every thirty seconds. Doctor Port said all things come in their own due time, but sometimes they just seemed to take _forever_ to arrive. What was taking Weiss so long?

"Hey, sis, whatcha doing?"

And sometimes they came faster and more often than you wanted them to. Now Ruby let herself succumb to pulling out her phone to check the time. Ugh, had it really been less than ten minutes since the last time she'd checked her phone? "Nothing, just waiting for Weiss. We're, we're gonna hang out today."

"Uh-huh." Yang leaned on the doorway, her arms crossed. "You two have been spending a lot of time together this past week. Something I need to know about?"

"Nope," Ruby answered, popping the 'p.' Okay, yeah, Yang would probably want to know that Ruby had finally found someone who believed, really believed in the Grimm, wasn't just humoring her or trying to convince her they weren't real, but then Yang would freak out, dad would freak out, and things would just get worse from there. And then Ruby would lose her one real friend.

Friend. That was a title Ruby hadn't applied to anyone for, well, years. Not since Penny. She sighed and looked down. "We're just hanging out at Weiss' house today. She offered to pick me up since the city bus doesn't go out that way," Ruby added, quietly.

"You okay, Rubes? Doesn't sound like you're too eager to go hang out with Weiss." Now Yang was crouched down in front of her, hand on Ruby's shoulder. "You know you can talk to me, right? I know, I know you've got some things to work through, but dad says we're in this together, all three of us."

Ruby nodded. She talked to Yang all the time, about all sorts of things, but she just couldn't talk to Yang about the most important thing. Not because Yang didn't listen, but because she'd smile and be polite, and go along with whatever Ruby said about the Grimm, but she wasn't really listening-listening. Instead, she was cataloging what Ruby said, to be reported to their dad, and Doctor Port, and all the other people that ware keenly interested in making sure that one Ruby Rose was no longer a danger to herself or others. "Sorry, it's not Weiss, I was just remembering... Weiss is the first real friend I've had, since, since Penny."

"Ah, I get it. Worried something's going to happen to Weiss? Trust me, not gonna happen. They caught the guy who hurt Penny, right? Weiss is perfectly safe," Yang answered with that special grin, the one that told Ruby something had just gotten added to Yang's mental list of things that needed reporting. "And hey, aren't I your friend, on top of being the most awesomest sister in the world? Pretty sure Blake would admit to being your friend too if you asked nicely."

"Yeah, I know," Ruby said with a grin of her own, one just as genuine as Yang's. Time to talk her sister down a bit, just like Yang was trying to do to her. "I'm just glad to make a new friend." Ruby's phone chimed, making her jump. Nervously the brunette auburn-haired girl pulled it out, her shaking hands betraying her and sending it skidding across the floor, to stop halfway between her and her sister. Yang shook her head and stepped over to pick up Ruby's pone, but Ruby dived across the living room floor, desperate to reach it before her sister did. The two collided, sending Yang tumbling to the floor. They struggled on the floor for a couple of minutes, fighting over the phone until Yang's arm waved over them, the chiming device clutched in her fist. "Oho, why so desperate to get to it first, Ruby? Got something juicy on here, something that I, as your loving and protective big sister that I'm obligated to see?"

"Yaaang, privacy," Ruby wailed, still scrambling to snatch the phone from her sister's grasp. "Doctor port said it's important."

Yang scowled and sat up, using one hand to brush her blonde hair out of her face even as the other hand held out the phone. Yeah, the doctor had said that even with all of Ruby's problems, it was important to respect her privacy and respect her boundaries, yadda, yadda, yadda. Which is why they could be worried about all that crap out in grandpa's old workshop, but they really couldn't do anything until Ruby was ready to let it go. "Here you are, Ruby, I was just teasing. Probably Weiss letting you know she's going to be late or something."

Ruby's face broke into a genuine smile as she read the message. "Nope, she's already here. Catch you later, Yang." She jumped up and snatched the duffle bag from by the couch and bolting for the front door.

Yang sighed as she watched her sister toss the duffle bag in the back seat of Weiss' car and hop into the passenger seat. What the hell did Ruby have in that thing, anyway? It clanked when Ruby moved it, and the few times Yang had managed to get her hands on it, the bag had been heavy as hell. Why did Yang have to get stuck with the crazy sister that needed constant supervision? Scowling, Yang turned and headed towards her dad's office, muttering, "She needs to be locked up," under her breath without really realizing it.

The blonde stopped and took a deep breath before opening the office door, then decided to pull out her phone and check her facial expression first. Perfect. Concerned older sister was the order of the day, not resentful at all, nope. Ruby needed their support and love, and Yang was absolutely glad to help. "Ruby's gone off with Weiss," she announced as she opened the door.

"Huh. How's Ruby getting there? Did she say what they were planning on doing? And when's Ruby going to be back? Come to think of it, do we have Weiss' address?" her father asked as he pulled reference manuals out of a box and set them on a shelf, the previous edition already sitting on the desk.

"Weiss picked her up, no she didn't, she didn't tell me that either, and no, I don't know the address but I do know where Weiss' house is. I can find it if we need to. Can I go now? I was gonna go hang out with my friends today," Yang finished, her arms crossed. Well, one friend in particular, but she wasn't going to tell her dad that. Or what she and Blake were (hopefully) going to be doing.

Taiyang shook his head as he set the book in his hand on the shelf next to the others. "Yang, it's important that we be here for Ruby. Until she gets better, we have to look out for her. That means keeping track of where she is and what she's doing. I'll give her a call to check up on her later." He turned and laid a hand on his older daughter's shoulder. "I know it's hard, especially at your age. You want to be running around, getting into trouble with your friends, not looking after your little sister and worrying about her problems. It's rough, I know, but she's your sister, and she needs you."

 _I need me,_ Yang thought, careful to keep the thought off her face. "Yeah, I know dad. And I'm sorry, it's just… I need some me time, and, well, Ruby's routine has been off this week, what with Weiss being over here and all."

"Hmm." An impish smile crossed Taiyang's face. "I suppose you're free for the day, assuming nothing goes wrong. And no boys are involved."

"Daaad!"

* * *

"My apologies for being late, Ruby. My mother…" Weiss took a deep breath. "My mother has noticed the change in my routine and was asking questions. Some of them were… rather awkward."

"Ugh, I know." Ruby buckled her seat belt and stretched out her legs. "Yang and my dad have been all over me this week. You should have heard some of the questions."

"Let's leave them to our respective imaginations, shall we?" As Weiss pulled the car around to leave, she caught sight of the bag Ruby had tossed in the back seat in the rear-view mirror. "So that's your Huntress's kit, is it? I'll admit, I'm rather intrigued to see this 'magic' of yours in action."

Ruby slumped down in her seat. "It's not that impressive," she muttered. "Mostly old folktales and stuff that I tried, some of it from old books I found in the city library. Some of it worked. Like prayer scrolls. They, they don't all work, but there's some that do. And, and runes, from Mistral? That, that's how I pull off things like making sure people don't notice Requiem's Whisper folded up in my backpack. Some charms, things like that. It's the best I could do," she finished, seeing the grimace on Weiss' face.

"So we're throwing fairy tales at them?" Weiss snapped, regretting it instantly as she saw Ruby cringe. "Well, I tried doing my own research over the past few days, and I didn't do any better. Fairy tales and new age nonsense are all there is about Grimm on the internet. And some very disturbing images done by people who are very seriously mentally ill! What?" she asked as she saw Ruby fumbling for the door handle. "W hat's wrong, Ruby? Is it something I said?"

"Let me out! You don't want to help me, you're just like the rest! You're only pretending to help me so I'll act less crazy. I'll bet Yang put you up to this, didn't she?" Ruby was clawing at the door handle now, the only thing keeping her inside the car was the automatic door lock.

Weiss stomped on the brakes, sending both of them lurching forward in their seats. "Now," Weiss huffed, reaching up to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face, "what exactly did I say wrong? Ruby Rose, I gave my word that I would help you, didn't I? I am new to all of this, and I will sometimes be wrong. But I am actively trying to learn. So please, please tell me what I did wrong. I, I can't do this alone. I need you, Ruby," Weiss trailed off, her forehead coming to a rest on the steering wheel.

Ruby's voice was soft and sad, one hand still on the door handle. "I… did something, fighting some Grimm. And I messed up, got caught. I said too much, explained everything. So they decided I was mentally ill, and I… got sent away for a while. They finally let me come home about three months before the start of freshman year."

Weiss took a deep, ragged breath, taking a moment to consider her words with care. "And I reminded you of that with my comment. I'm sorry. Some of the images I found were truly disturbing. And no, your sister didn't put me up to this. In fact, I think I exchanged more words with her that night I had dinner at your house than I've said to her in our entire time at Beacon." The two of them shared a shaky sort of laugh, then Weiss sat up and turned in her seat to face Ruby. "Ruby Rose, you have my word, I believe you. More than that, I believe _in_ you. I have seen the things you fight, not just that afternoon at school, but scurrying around my home from shadow to shadow, scratching within the walls."

"That might just be mice in the walls, you know," Ruby said, one corner of her mouth tilting up in a small smile.

"Mice? In my home? They wouldn't dare!" Weiss laughed, then reached for the steering wheel again, a car honking angrily as it passed them. "Are we, are we good, now?"

"We'll see." Ruby was a little proud of herself; Weiss had made her mad, and instead of caving in, Ruby had stood up for herself. Sometimes that was kinda hard for her. "At least good enough for me to show you how to set up wards. Now, tell me about the Grimm, how many have you seen, how big, what do they look like? I, uh, I guess I need to start teaching you about Grimm, don't I?"

"I think I have a great deal to learn from you, Huntress Ruby Rose," Weiss said with another laugh as she set the car moving again. "About Grimm, and other things."

As they drove onward, Weiss told Ruby about the Grimm she'd seen. At one stop sign, Ruby reached back and fished a book out of her bag, showing Weiss some of her sketches of Grimm. "It's sort of a 'Ruby's Field Guide for Grimm," she said with a small smile. "My sister thinks it's part of my therapy, but it's actually a useful tool. And the way I've got it organized, I can add new entries or expand existing ones without having to rewrite the whole thing. It's a modified form of bullet journaling."

"That's very efficient of you, Ruby. You have my compliments. And those sketches are very good; you should consider a career as an artist."

"Like I'm ever gonna have a normal life," Ruby answered softly, running her fingers down the open page in her journal.

"I think you can, Ruby, at least in part. If nothing else, you'll need something to do to pay the bills." Ruby's face took on a hint of pink at Weiss' words, and she hurriedly went on with cataloging the Grimm the white-haired girl had seen.

When they pulled up to the gate to Weiss' house, she hesitated before punching in the gate code. "Is something wrong, Weiss? We, we don't have to do this today. I can come back tomorrow or another day."

"No, nothing wrong, Ruby," Weiss replied as she started punching in the code. "It's just, it's been a long time since I brought a visitor home. Something of a new experience for me. And I could really, really use a good night's sleep."

The gate slid open, and Weiss pulled the car around to the front entrance. A low whistle unconsciously escaped Ruby's lips. "Wow, your house is _huge_ and really fancy, Weiss."

"I hate it," Weiss said, her words dripping with venom. "As soon as I can, I'm moving out. I can't stand being here."

Ruby couldn't help but recoil from Weiss' words, even if they weren't directed at her. "W-well, let's do something about the Grimm, shall we? If nothing else, that'll make staying here until you can leave at least a little less uncomfortable." Ruby opened the door and stepped out of the car, stretching, then reached into her top, pulling out a brightly glowing pendant.

"Put that away, Ruby," Weiss snapped. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"It's okay, Weiss. It's like the Grimm, and the runes I put on stuff. Most people see the pendant, but they don't see the glow. This is kind of a Geiger counter for Grimm. The closer they are, the more of them there are, the more powerful they are, the brighter it glows." Ruby was grinning as she studied the pendant's glow. Then she realized what it meant, her face falling. "It, ah, it looks like your house is pretty infested, Weiss, so let's do something about that." Ruby reached back into the car and pulled her bag out, settling the strap on her shoulder. "Luckily, I kill monsters," she added, an excited grin spreading across her face again.

Weiss got even paler than normal for a moment. The look on Ruby's face was almost feral in its aspect. "Please keep in mind that my mother will eventually be home, and there's also the maids and the rest of the staff. It would be… inconvenient if what we were up to were to come to her attention."

"I'll try. And here," Ruby's hand dipped into her bag, pulling out the cutlass Wiess had picked up in the workshop. "This is one of my older weapons, but if you're used to swords, it'll probably work better for you than the newer ones. I, uh, I even did a couple of upgrades on it this last week. Now it's as unnoticeable as I can make something, and it even bursts into flame on command. Grimm, ah, they don't like fire. Some are scared of it, sorta, but all of them are really hurt by it. Here, hold it, like that, yeah, focus your will on it, and speak the word, 'incendio.'"

"'Incendio?'" Weiss said doubtfully, almost dropping the sword when it burst into eldritch blue flames. "That is… very interesting, " she added, swishing the blade around and watching the motion of the flames. "How do I turn it off? And you're sure it's invisible?"

"Say 'incendio' again. And not invisible, unnoticeable. Big difference. Unless something specifically brings it to someone's attention, they'll tend to ignore it. Remember the day I wore chain mail to school?" Ruby asked, giving Weiss a wink.

"No. And I rather think I would have noticed if you had, Ruby," was Weiss' weary reply, complete with eye-roll. "As would anyone else who wasn't completely blind."

"That's right. And nobody else remembers either. Come on, give me the grand tour. Oh, and blinders on for the first pass. We don't want the Grimm noticing what we're up to juust yet."

They spent the next three hours wandering around the house inside and out. Ruby gushed outrageously over everything whenever she thought there might be someone within earshot, and Weiss endured it with perfectly faked mild annoyance. At least Ruby thought it was faked. Maybe Weiss was getting annoyed for real, and it was time to take it down a few notches. Ruby's eyes scanned across every room she was shown, making note of Grimm activity. She was really impressed with how good Weiss' observations had been. Scary good, even. A bit of education about Grimm and Ruby might almost trust a report from Weiss more than she would her own. Almost.

"Okay," Ruby said at last, as they ate their lunch on the patio, her notebook open to the maps she'd sketched of the house, "I think that's everywhere and everything. It looks like the Grimm are focused here," her fork stabbed toward a room Weiss hadn't taken them into on the second floor, "and here," the fork descended again, this time onto the master bedroom. "Nothing bigger than a kitten, but enough little fuckers to make just about anyone's life hell."

Weiss shivered. Of course, they would have to be focused on _that_ room. "That-that used to be my room," she stammered, one hand rubbing her other wrist again. "I, um, I switched rooms a few years ago. I don't think anyone's been in my old room except the occasional maid in years."

One of Ruby's eyebrows rose at Weiss' gesture, but she didn't say anything. Ruby had her own secrets after all. "Yep, and there's a bonus smaller concentration around your current room too. Think we can get into your mother's room, at least for a few minutes? Some well-hidden charms and prayer scrolls will do a lot to protect your mom until we get the rest of the house taken care of." She shook her head. "Your house is bigger and more infested than I thought, Weiss. I, uh, I don't have enough traps and stuff to finish the job, but I'll do what I can with what I have. And I've got to show you how to make this stuff, and how to set it up."

"I appreciate your concern for my mother, Ruby. And," Weiss glanced at her watch, "how much time will you need for her room? Given her schedule today, we have just over an hour before she should return."

* * *

Weiss's phone rang as she was hiding one of the rune-covered copper plates Ruby called a 'trap' behind a painting in her mother's room. She pulled it out and glanced at it. "It's my mother," Weiss whispered to Ruby, who nodded and slid a prayer scroll behind the back cover of a book that didn't look like it'd been pulled from the shelf since it'd been bought. "Hello, mother," Weiss answered, "To what do I owe the honor of your voice?"

"Weiss Elizabeth Schnee," her mother's voice held just a hint of annoyance, "do not take that tone with me. I am not in the mood for it on the best of days, and today definitely isn't one of those. I called to let you know that I'm not going to be home until late, probably after dinner. Somebody fucked up, I don't want to bore you with the details or I'll start ranting again, and I've got to sort it out. How are you and your little friend doing? Enjoying yourselves?"

"Ruby and I are just fine, mother. We were just about to watch a movie." Ruby was standing by the bay window, peering out toward the back of the house and waving Weiss over excitedly. "Mother, I've got to go."

"Hey, Weiss, is there some other building hidden behind those bushes by the garage?" The brunette was chewing her lip in thought. "Because I'm seeing a lot of Grimm coming and going from over that way. Sometimes they'll 'sleep' or nest somewhere out of the way, near wherever they're infesting. If they're nesting there, we'll have to take care of it before we clear the house, or we'll just end up doing it again."

Weiss shook her head. There was nothing behind the garage. Nothing except— "Oh no," she whispered hoarsely, collapsing to her knees.


	5. Chapter 5

Weiss sat there, slumped on the floor, sobbing softly. It was over, she was done. There was no way she could face what was waiting behind the garage. And if she couldn't face that, how could she face Grimm? And if she couldn't fight Grimm, what good was she? She'd be haunted by the Grimm she could see out of the corner of her eye for the rest of her life. Weiss would end up a wretched, broken shell, tormented by visions of the Grimm like Ruby was, only lacking the will to fight them that was the only thing keeping Ruby clinging to sanity.

A rustle of cloth from next to her broke her interrupted Weiss's despair, and she lifted her head slightly to see Ruby smoothing out her skirt as she sat on the floor next to Weiss. "What-what are you doing, Ruby?" she asked in between sobs.

"Waiting," the younger girl answered, "and being here for you, like, like Penny used to be for me. I was so scared, and she'd always hold me and tell me to be brave, for her. So now, I'm doing for you what she did for me. When you're ready, we'll figure out what to do next."

"But I-" Weiss broke off, wiping the tears from her face, then took a deep ragged breath. "But I, I don't know if I can face… what's behind the garage."

"It's pretty bad, isn't it?" Ruby asked, her eyes full of worry for Weiss.

The white-haired girl turned her head aside and nodded, unable to speak, the words dying in her throat.

"And it has to do with you, and I'm guessing your mom, too, given where the Grimm are swarming around the house."

"What-what makes you say that?" Weiss managed to choke out.

"Well… we haven't really had a chance to go much into what I really know about the Grimm. Like the charms and traps, it's based on old fairy tales, combined with, um, I think the phrase I want is 'empirical observation.' Based on what I've seen? I tried to figure out where Grimm come from, what makes them tick, that sort of thing. Most sources call them 'evil spirits, born of the darkness in men's souls,' stuff like that." Weiss couldn't help but giggle a little at the overblown dramatic tone in Ruby's words. "But," Ruby continued, "I have noticed patterns of behavior. They're attracted to negative emotions, hate, anger, rage, suffering, that sort of thing."

Weiss' head jerked up and down. "When, when someone dies, could, could that leave behind a, a residue of some sort? If, if they were incredibly angry when they died? The sort of thing that could spawn Grimm, or attract them."

"Yeah," Ruby said softly, "I think it could. So I need to know what's waiting back there when I go. You can stay here if you don't feel up to facing it. But first, I, um, I gotta tell you something.

"I didn't make the sword."

"What?" Weiss turned to look at Ruby, her mouth open in shock.

"I, uh, I found it in a junk shop. Took me fifty lien, all the Grimm-hunting money I had at the time, but I knew it was worth it. Even before I figured out the runes and stuff, I could feel it was old and full of power. So I studied it. That, that's how I figured out the no-notice charm. And, and my chain mail? That took me months figure out how to enchant, and I keep having to redo it. Same with Requiem's Whisper." Ruby's head hung down. "I'm sorry I lied to you, Weiss. I was just so excited and glad to have a friend, one that saw the Grimm, I just, I just wanted you to think I was awesome, not just some loony."

Weiss shook her head. "Ruby, you didn't need to impress me. I happen to think you're a rather formidable person, just from keeping it together this long." Weiss stopped herself before she said the next thing that came to her mind. She did _not_ need to say that to Ruby right now. "And I know I still have an incredible amount of things to learn about Grimm, but I will learn and I will fight by your side.

"Now," Weiss took a deep breath and climbed to her feet, Ruby standing up and smoothing out her skirt, "I suppose I'd better tell you what we're getting into, at least what I know of it.

"Behind the garage is a disused carriage house. Yes, this house is that old. My father," Weiss's voice broke off, but she squared her shoulders and continued on, "my father was facing prison. Mother had already divorced him, taken the company back from him, banned him from the property. He even had to get a public defender for his trial." Weiss laughed, a bitter spiteful laugh. "Imagine that, Jacques Gele, once Jacques Schnee, one of the richest and most powerful men in the world, having to have a public attorney. Somehow or another, he managed to get bail. And then he snuck onto our property, into that old carriage house.

"And that's where he hanged himself," Weiss said, her voice broken, halting between syllables.

"Weiss-" Ruby started to say, only to have her words fall on deaf ears as Weiss continued. "It was spring and a particularly warm one at that. After he missed a court appearance, they started looking for him. One of the first places they looked was here, but by the time they found his body it had been there for days."

"So," Weiss turned and faced Ruby, hands on her hips, voice steadier with every word, "does that sound like something that would spawn some Grimm? Enough to account for what we're seeing here?"

Ruby suppressed a grin, shrugging and trying to appear nonchalant instead. "Probably, or at least most of it. What was he going to prison for?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Weiss said, her voice going sad and quiet for a moment.. "So, shall we beard the dreaded Grimm in their lair?"

"Or at least recon the place," Ruby laughed, picking her backpack up from where it sat slumped up against the bed. "And remember, _we_ kill monsters."

* * *

Weiss hadn't been kidding about the carriage house being disused. The 'path' she led Ruby down was tangled and overgrown, barely worthy of the name, and soon as she figured they were out of sight of the main house, Ruby unfolded her weapon and started clearing the path. After a while, Weiss gave a nervous backward glance and did the same with her sword. "So, you're telling me, you handed me probably the most irreplaceable item in your whole arsenal, just to impress me."

Ruby stopped, the haft of her weapon resting on her shoulder. "Well, when you put it that way, it does sound kinda dumb. Trade you?"

"Hardly.'' Weiss ignited her sword for a moment to hack a particularly bothersome bush out of the way. "I've seen you fight with that stick of yours, remember? There's no way I'm as good as you are with it, and I've had actual fencing training. Now, this isn't exactly a fencing saber, more like a cutlass I think, but I'd be willing to bet I'm still better with a sword than you. Get ready, I think we're almost there."

Weiss was right. Within moments they broke out of the overgrowth and into the open area around the carriage house. It stood in front of them, a formidable timber and stone structure, looming over the two girls like a mausoleum. Weiss watched as smaller Grimm went to and fro, slipping in and out of the dilapidated building through broken windows and the main doors, the left side of which had broken off its top hinge and hung crooked, offering a peek into the Stygian darkness within. A tiny werewolf-looking Grimm ( _Beowolf_ , Weiss' mind supplied) perched on the wreckage of the door, hissing at them, and Weiss shivered. "After Father… did what he did, Mother talked off and on about having it knocked down. She never got to it, I suppose."

Ruby nodded, wiping her clammy hands on her skirt. "I… I haven't seen this many Grimm in one place in a long time, not even little ones. So, press on or fall back?"

"Press on." Weiss' lips were a thin, determined line. "We have your bag of tricks and two badass Huntresses with magic weapons, even if I am still learning about Grimm. I think we've got them outnumbered. And I would really, really like a good night's sleep tonight. If nothing else, I need practice fighting them." She pointed with the tip of her sword. "The side door there is probably our best bet. If we have to break in, it'll be less work than clearing the main doors."

When they went to open it, the side door fell inward at a touch, the sound echoing across the abandoned building. "H-Hinges came out of the door," Ruby laughed nervously. "Your mom might want to have somebody look into that." She stopped to pull a flashlight from her pack, its beam stabbing into the shadows, picking out long-abandoned crates and boxes. "I, um, I guess that they might be centered around where your dad, um, you know. Do you know where he did it?"

"No," Weiss answered, her sidetail swinging back and forth as she shook her head. "I wasn't allowed to see the body before his funeral. Mother said the only reason Whitley and I were attending was for 'closure.' Honestly, I could have done without it, and just put him in the ground with as little ceremony as possible."

"Right. Well, next best idea is go where there's the most Grimm, and, uh, kill them? Plant traps and wards and stuff too. We've got to at least thin them out, even if we can't clear it out today." Ruby's polearm flashed out, stabbing something that seemed to be all teeth and pinning it the floor before it dissolved. "Sorry, those always creep me out."

Weiss laughed as she wreathed her sword in flames. "All the things you've seen, and _those_ are what bothers you?"

"They're like my dog, Zwei, but, you know, all messed up and creepy."

"Ruby, what am I going to do with you?"

"Hmm," Ruby said, leaning on her weapon for a moment while she thought. "Take up my lunatic crusade against invisible monsters nobody but you and I can see without really thinking this through? Or, really, at all?"

"When you put it like that… I believe the phrase is, 'I'm out.'" Ruby's jaw dropped as Weiss lowered her weapon and started walking toward the door.

"Weiss… don't leave, please?" Ruby whimpered, sagging.

Suddenly Weiss whirled, cutting down three small wasp-like Grimm before coming around to face Ruby again, her weapon in a guard position. "Dolt," she said, giving Ruby a smirk. "I am not going to abandon you. Now let's get to work."

Steadily the pair made their way into the building, stabbing and slashing Grimm after Grimm. "You're doing better than I expected, for your first time, I mean," Ruby said, panting as she took the head off a dog-sized Beowolf with her blade before bringing the butt down on a Grimm that looked like the mis-spawned offspring of a crab and a starfish.

"Fencing champion, remember? Although this is rather tiring," Weiss laughed as she danced around a Beowulf that came up to her waist before stabbing it in the back.

"Running, running is good for endurance. I run. Wow, these are kind of big." Ruby stopped, panting as her eyes traveled upward. "Hayloft."

"Say again?" Weiss snapped, her blade flashing out to impale two more Grimm that were creeping up on Ruby. "And pay attention, those, I don't remember what the starfish-crab ones are, almost snuck up on you."

"Huh? Oh!" Ruby shook her head, weapon darting upward to spear a good-sized Nevermore that was swooping down at them. "The starfish things are new to me, you want to name them? And I was thinking that if your dad wanted to hang himself, he might have tied a rope to the beam up there and jumped from the hayloft." She looked around at the dusty crates and other things scattered around the room. "I don't see anywhere else he could have tied a rope real easily."

Weiss nodded. "A sensible idea, from what you've told me about Grimm. That's probably the best spot to set the traps and wards we have left."

Ruby's hands were shaking but she forced them still, bringing her polearm down to stab a starfish Grimm before butt-stroking a Creep, twirling her weapon like a drum major twirling a baton. "Let's be about it, then."

Finally the pair stood at the bottom of the ladder, looking up toward the hayloft. "Scuttles," Weiss said, her eyes straining to see up into the shadows.

"Say what?" Ruby gave Weiss a confused look.

"The crab-starfish things. You said I could name them."

"Oh." Ruby blinked. "Now you tell me this?"

"Well, I-Ruby, look out!" Weiss tackled Ruby, shoving her to one side as _something_ dived down at them from the hayloft.

Ruby looked up at Weiss, the white-haired girl breathing hard. She started to say something, but before Ruby could find words, Weiss rolled off to one side in a crouch, looking up at the thing that had come down from the hayloft.

It was _huge_ , a full eight or nine feet tall, the knuckles of its long, clawed arms dragging on the ground. The thing tilted its head, its misshapen fanged jaws open wide in a twisted grin.

"Ruby," Weiss said calmly, "tell me what this thing is, tell me you've killed one before."

"Well, I haven't seen something like this, but it wouldn't be the first one-of-a-kind Grimm. But I have killed one this big before." Ruby held her naginata ready, the blade aimed squarely at the Grimm's chest.

"Oh, good. How?"

"Well, I ran away and came back with a plan. Sort of a good-bad-plan, since I killed it but got institutionalized."

"Oh." Weiss' voice was flat, cold. "Let's hold that in reserve, shall we? For now, run or kill it?"

"Kill it," Ruby spat. "Last time, I didn't have a proper weapon. And there's two of us. Just remember our battle cry: Try not to die."

"I thought it was-" Tired of their talking, the creature lunged toward Weiss, bringing one clawed hand around and down. It missed, but only barely, and she could feel the tip of one of its claws caress her face as she tumbled backward, landing on her feet with her weapon at the ready.

"Nice move, Weiss!" Ruby yelled, taking care of the monster's distraction to stab at its ankles, trying to hamstring it.

"I did gymnastics for years," was the reply as Weiss darted in to slash at the arm that had swiped at her. "I'll teach you some if you want."

The two of them danced wordlessly around the still-nameless Grimm, weapons and claws flashing as it sought to kill the two of them just as earnestly as they sought to kill it. With its size and superior reach, it was impossible to get a single killing blow. Instead, they set to harrying the creature, the death of a thousand cuts, weakening it little by little.

Ruby blocked a double overhand claw strike with the haft of her weapon, the force behind the blows making her feet slide in the dusty old hay covering the floor. "Ruby!" Weiss yelled, darting forward to stab at the creature's midsection, only to have her blade skitter off ribs where ribs had no business being. Well, there was no rule saying that creatures of nightmare had to obey the same biological principles as every other living thing, was there? If you wanted to call Grimm living, of course.

The Grimm swung at Weiss, but she rolled under the blow, jumping to her feet and bringing her sword down on its upper arm, hard. It screamed, an unholy wail, the first sound of any sort they'd heard it make the whole battle, and it was then that Weiss and Ruby's eyes met, and they both knew they had this thing.

It turned toward the ruins of the big double door, as if to flee, but without a word, the two of them struck at the creature simultaneously, Weiss's blade sliding between its ribs from back to front, Ruby's naginata pinning it the floor. Before it could rise again, Weiss pulled her blade out of its ribcage. "Haven't you done enough to this family, to _me?"_ she snarled, bringing her blade down viciously and cutting the monster's upper torso in half, from the right side of its neck to just under its armpit.

"Remind me never to make you mad," Ruby said with a whistle. "Uh, Weiss, we have a problem."

"What do you mean, we have a problem? We won, didn't we?" Weiss gestured at where the monster's remains were starting to sublimate.

"Yeah, but, um, you caught some of the stuff on fire." The old, dry straw had caught fire while they were fighting the Grimm, and now flames were racing across the floor up the piled crates.

"Flaming sword?" Weiss moaned.

"Flaming sword," Ruby agreed. "Run?"

"Now we run." The two of them bolted toward the door, Ruby barely pausing to scoop up her backpack from where it had fallen on the way out.

They collapsed at the edge of the clearing, watching as smoke began to pour out of the ruined carriage house. "Now what?" Ruby asked, panting.

"Now we call the fire department and my mother. As soon as we come up with a convincing story. What?" Weiss frowned at Ruby, who was staring fixedly at her face.

"Y-Your face, it's cut. You're bleeding," Ruby stammered, pointing towards Weiss' left eye.

Weiss pulled out her phone, using the camera to get a good look at her face. "Damn. I'm lucky I didn't lose the eye. Well, it had better be a _very_ convincing story."


	6. Chapter 6

Ruby didn't hear from Weiss all day Sunday.

Nor did she see Weiss Monday morning at school. By lunchtime, Ruby was worrying so bad that Yang dragged her sister over to sit with her and Blake, much to Blake's annoyance. "I don't see what the big deal is, Ruby," Yang said, taking a bite of her cheeseburger, "it's just the Ice Queen." Blake glared at her, and the blonde swallowed, maybe a bit too fast. "She'll be fine."

Ruby just picked at her spaghetti. It was better than some she'd eaten, but right now… "One, don't call her Ice Queen, she really hates it. She's not cold, just really private and reserved. And two, well, it is kinda my fault, that old carriage house burning down."

"Nonsense," came a clipped Atlas accent from behind her. "Yes, you suggested the exorcism, but I'm the one that dropped the candle."

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled, making students all over the lunchroom look up. She jumped out of her seat, wrapping her arms around Weiss. "You didn't answer your phone, I was worried that your mom had hauled you back to Atlas or something."

"Yes, well, my mother took me to the doctor this morning.," Weiss replied, struggling not to berate Ruby or shove her to the floor at the unexpected contact. "Not that she didn't trust the paramedics or the doctors at the emergency room, but she wanted our regular physician's opinion about my injury."

Yang whistled as Blake stood up to get a closer look at Weiss' face. "That must have hurt," the Faunus girl said curiously. "Ruby told us what happened, but how did your face get cut?"

Weiss gave a small shrug as she disentangled herself from Ruby and sat down at the table. "To be honest, I'm not completely sure. I felt something brush my face as we were running from the flames, but I didn't even notice I was bleeding until Ruby pointed it out."

"Damn, Ice Queen, you must have spaced out bad not to notice something like that," Yang said, laughing.

Ruby glared at her sister for a moment before laughing too, but inside, she was worried, and she'd bet that Weiss was worried too. The story they'd come up with was that Weiss had told Ruby about how her father died, and Ruby had suggested an exorcism. "Might as well use me being the school weirdo," Ruby had said, laughing. One dropped candle later, courtesy of Weiss, and they had been running for their lives before calling the fire department.

Weiss just frowned at both of them over the rim of her coffee cup. "Yes, well, adrenaline can do odd things, as my doctor said. He also noted that the doctor at the emergency room did an exceptional job stitching me up, that I need to make sure to take all of the antibiotics I was prescribed, and that I am probably going to have a scar, although how much of a scar only time will tell. Oh, and I should watch out for things such as changes in my vision, more swelling, pus, and other signs that my wound has become infected."

"I think it's gonna make you look kinda badass," Yang said, giving Weiss a wink and missing the glare from Blake.

"Yes, well, I could have done without another scar."

"Another scar?" That piqued Blake's interest. "I hadn't known about you having any scars."

"Probably because my scars are none of anyone's business!" Weiss snapped, coming to her feet and leaning toward Blake, both hands on the table.

"Easy, Weiss, she didn't mean anything by it," Ruby said, frowning at Blake and Yang. "But you're not in too much trouble, Weiss?"

With a sigh, Weiss sat back down, looking at the coffee cup nestled in her hands. "Yes and no. The consequences to me from my mother, while not extreme given events, are not insignificant either. My activities and freedom are going to be restricted for a time. I have been forced to give up my phone, and I've lost the use of my car. I am, for lack of a better word, 'grounded' indefinitely. And you, Ruby?"

"Extra appointment with my shrink after school," Ruby said, scowling. "He's not as bad as some I've had but… What?" she said, surprised by the shocked look on her sister's face. "It's okay, Weiss knows about me getting sent away."

"I'm just, I'm just surprised at the change in you, the last week or so. Usually, you're all broody and stuff, and now, look at you!" Yang smiled. "I don't know what you did to my sister, Weiss, but keep it up."

"It's… it's not what she did, but something she said. She looked at my sketches, and said they were good and I should think about a career as an artist." Ruby shrugged. "It got me thinking, maybe, maybe I need something to reach for. Maybe that'll help."

"Oh," Weiss and Yang at the same time, then looked at each other in confusion.

"You know," Blake mused, picking at her own burger and fries, "Yang sorta told me about these monsters you see, Ruby, and about your sketches and notebooks, but I've never seen them. May I?"

Ruby started to reach for her backpack but hesitated. She'd stopped trying to show anyone what she saw years ago, even before she got put away. But, well, Weiss had seen them, and not freaked out, so maybe it was okay? But Weiss had seen a Grimm, fought it, so she already knew they were real.

Okay, well, sooner or later, Ruby was going to have to show them to someone besides Doctor Port. Blake might make a good test case; Yang had probably explained things to her already.

Her hands shook as she pulled her latest notebook from her backpack. "Here, these, I did these after, um, after Weiss and I, you know, um-"

"Accidentally burned down an abandoned carriage house," Weiss said with a snort. "Less hesitation, next time, Ruby. It happened, we're not proud of it but we are going to admit what we did."

Blake's ears flicked as she paged through the notebook, not reading in detail but just skimming. "Very meticulous, Ruby. Sort of a combination field guide and spotting record." She stopped at the picture of the enormous Grimm Weiss and Ruby had fought, running her fingers down the page. "Wow, that's creepy. Weiss is right, though. Your sketches are really good."

"T-Thanks," Ruby said, taking the notebook back.

As they were walking to class after lunch, Blake pulled Yang off one side. "Feeling frisky, kitty? Careful, we might get caught," Yang said with a smirk, her face falling when she saw Blake's face.

"What was with being so nice to Weiss at lunch? Normally you two ignore each other."

Yang raised her hands defensively. "Easy, easy. I'm just being nice because she's been hanging out with Ruby. And don't tell me you haven't noticed how Ruby's been, well, less Ruby lately. The more normal she is, the less I have to watch her. The less I have to watch her," Yang's arms lowered and slid around Blake's waist, pulling her close, "the more time there is for you and me."

"You don't have to be so mercenary about it," Blake said, ears flat on her head.

"Hey, I want my sister to be stable enough to handle life on her own. I mean," Yang shrugged, "I don't want her chained to dad and me her whole life. Maybe we can turn this crazy thing into, I dunno, a career into art or writing. I'll talk to dad."

* * *

"Ah, Miss Rose! A pleasure to see you again. I hear you had an adventure on Saturday."

"Yeah." Ruby sat carefully in the chair next to Doctor Port. "I, uh, I don't think I told you, but I made a friend. Her name's Weiss, and, um, we got the idea to do an exorcism on her dad's ghost. He, he killed himself and I thought it might help her feel better." She sighed, looking down at her feet. "But Weiss dropped the candle she was holding and we accidentally burned down the old carriage house where he hung himself."

Port laughed. Ruby had said more in that one burst of conversation than she usually did in a whole session. Maybe she'd had a breakthrough. "It's good that you're finally opening up and making friends. I've been very worried about how isolated you've been since returning to the wider world. We all subconsciously adjust our behavior based on the reactions of those around us. When we isolate, we're not getting that constant feedback, both subtle and direct. So," Port clapped his hands together, smiling at Ruby, "how does your new friend make you feel?"

"Great!" Ruby grinned. "She, she's not all judgey like my dad and sister are. I mean, I know they're worried about me, but sometimes it's too much."

"I see." Port's eyes narrowed. "And does this Weiss know about your visions, Miss Rose?"

"She knows. Weiss, ah, she got assigned as my math tutor, and she saw one of my notebooks and was curious. She likes my sketches," Ruby finished, running her hands down her legs nervously. Lying to Port was an iffy proposition. There were times when she knew he'd caught her but played along anyway.

Port nodded sagely. "That's an avenue we haven't explored before, art therapy. Perhaps we can channel your creative energies that way. Who knows, you may be able to turn this into a career as an artist."

"Weiss said the same thing," Ruby said with a laugh.

"Then perhaps it's truly worth considering. Now, tell me more about this Weiss."

* * *

Weiss raised an eyebrow as she stepped into the car, then winced as the motion pulled at her stitches. "I didn't expect you to pick me up from school personally, mother. To what do I owe this honor?"

Willow frowned at her daughter. "I'm not sure I care for your tone, Weiss."

"I hear being a disrespectful teenager is all the rage these days."

"Mm. I wanted to talk to you about something where no-one could hear us." Mother put her foot down on the accelerator, pulling the car away from Beacon, and Weiss felt a shiver of delight go down her spine at the feel of the chained horsepower under the hood. Her mother's next words brought her sharply back to reality. "What do you really know about that girl, Ruby?"

Weiss sighed. Given her mother's meticulous nature, it was inevitable that sooner or later, she would look into Ruby. "Are you running background checks on my friends now, mother? Fine. I am aware that Ruby has a history of mental illness, and that she was institutionalized at one point. A friend of hers was killed in front of her when she was very young; I assume that caused some sort of trauma. All of which Ruby told me herself."

"That's what the detective said when I talked to him this afternoon. But he included one thing that you didn't." Willow stopped at a red light, then half-turned in her seat to face her daughter. "What do you know about the actual act that got her institutionalized?"

"Not much," Weiss admitted reluctantly. "Ruby was rather reluctant to talk about it. I got the impression that whatever she did, afterward she probably said too much to someone and that's what got her sent away."

Willow nodded. "I can understand her reluctance to talk about it. So you weren't aware of the fact that she got sent away because she burned down an abandoned building?"

Weiss blinked as her mother set the car moving again."No, I didn't know that."

"The detective was most interested in that particular point. Are you sure how the fire started, absolutely sure?"

"I am sure, mother. There's no way Ruby started that fire, she was in my sight the whole time we were I the carriage house."

"Well, you can expect to be questioned about that point by the detective." Willow sighed. "Frankly, if I thought it would do any good, I'd forbid you to see her again."

"But-"

" _However,"_ Willow continued over Weiss' protest, "I am honest enough with myself to admit that the only way I can really keep the two of you apart would be to transfer you to another school. But there are ways around that, and I don't want to transfer you in the middle of your senior year. So all I can really do is ask you to be careful around her. I don't want you getting into trouble."

"I assure you, mother, that I will be very careful when I am around Ruby." No need to tell her mother exactly why she was being careful, after all.

"The other thing is, I… may have been hasty in my punishment. Frankly, having that old carriage house gone, well, it feels like a vast weight has been lifted from my shoulders." Willow lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "I honestly should have had it knocked down years ago, especially after what your father did."

Weiss nodded. After the destruction of the carriage house, she'd noticed less Grimm in the main house, especially around her old room, and she had definitely slept better the last two nights. She wasn't sure if it was the death of the huge Grimm or the fire that had done it, but there was no arguing with results.

"In any case, here's your phone back. You've received four or five calls today, from someone named Coco. I assume that whatever it is, it must be important if they've called this many times." Her mother's tone turned what normally would have been a statement into a question.

"Coco is a friend of mine, she graduated last year and has been studying fashion. It's probably pre-wedding jitters; she's getting married in January." Weiss unlocked her phone and saw that Coco had called no less than _six_ times. And left voicemails. With a sigh, Weiss queued up the first voicemail.

Coco's panicked words made Weiss turn even paler than usual. "Oh no..."


	7. Chapter 7

Weiss was seething as she stormed up to Coco outside the hospital. "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you inside with Velvet? She needs you more than anyone else right now!" With a frown, the white-haired girl reached out and snatched the cigarette from Coco's lips. "And I thought Velvet made you quit those filthy things anyway. One of her conditions for a second date, wasn't it?"

Coco couldn't help but smile just a little as her shaking hands tried to pull another cigarette from her pack, spilling half a dozen on the ground. It was three tries before she got the lighter lit, and even then she had trouble matching it up with the end of the fresh cigarette in her mouth. "Th-They threw me out!"

"Who? The doctors? That's ridiculous! You're Velvet's fiancee for crying out loud! There's no-one with more of a right to be by her side than you." Weiss started to reach out to knock the cigarette from Coco's mouth again, then thought better of it. Let Coco have her nicotine, then Weiss might get some answers.

"No, Velvet's parents. They showed up with some lawyer, claiming I wasn't Velvet's legal next of kin and thus had no say in her care." Coco took a deep drag, exhaling slowly. "When I tried to explain I was Velvet's fiancee, the lawyer said that didn't matter. So I swallowed my pride, and called my parents, hoping that maybe, maybe they might… if not forgive me, then maybe help." She stopped to consider the cigarette in her hand for a moment before taking another drag. "And yeah, I did quit. Two years, not one cigarette, but today… today I don't care." She exhaled slowly, watching the smoke in the cool autumn air. "The woman I love, the first person who cared about me for _me_ is up there, fighting for her life, and I can't be there for her. So I. Don't. _C_ _are."_

Weiss nodded carefully, her mind working furiously. Coco had been a year ahead of her at Beacon, a real wild child hell-bent on her own destruction before she'd run full-tilt into the speed trap of plain old shy adorableness that was Velvet. Coco had asked Velvet out on the spot, and the rabbit-eared girl had turned her down flat. Repeatedly. Finally, Velvet had caved in and agreed to one and only one date, with one condition: Coco was not allowed to smoke during their date, or for twenty-four hours beforehand. The rest was, well history.

Including the fact that neither Velvet or Coco's parents had approved of their relationship, and had done everything they could think of to break the pair up. Weiss was fairly sure gunfire may have become involved at least once. Coco's parents had even thrown her out after she refused to break up with Velvet. Velvet's parents had at least waited until she was eighteen to cut her off.

To hell with it. There was no way Weiss was going to stand here and let one of her best friends suffer like this. She reached out and grabbed Coco's arm, knocking the cigarette to the ground and grinding it under her heel. "Come with me," she ordered in a tone that would have had armies on the march in another age and towing a confused Coco behind her into the hospital up to where Velvet lay in the ICU.

There things hit a snag. Standing outside the door was a broad-shouldered man wearing a black suit. "Nobody allowed but doctors," he rumbled. "Mrs. Scarlatina's orders. Leave." His eyes focused on Coco. "Especially not her."

Weiss's pale blue eyes narrowed. "Move or be moved," she hissed. "Try me, and I will end you."

Rainart blinked. At his size, just about anyone's first impulse was to back off when he growled at them, no matter how tough they thought they were. Now this five-foot-nothing girl who looked like he could lift two of her with one hand had just threatened him. And everything about the way she was looking at him uttered absolute certainty that she could make good on it and just hadn't decided how yet. "Think I need to find a restroom," he said, glancing at the door behind him. "Too much coffee."

"Thank you," Coco whispered. Weiss just lifted one shoulder in a half shrug as she opened the door. Now came the hard part.

"And just what do you think you're doing here?" Vanessa Scarlatina stood from the chair next to where her daughter lay, her voice starting angry and rapidly rising in pitch. "I'll have you arrested, right after I fire that incompetent I had watching the door. Security! I'm not letting you anywhere near my daughter, not anymore, you-"

Weiss slapped her, hard, across the face. Shock and awe, that was the key. "Shut the hell up. If you were honest with yourself for even a tenth of a second, you'd know that there's no-one, _no-one_ that Velvet would rather have here than Coco. And that if it was Coco lying in that bed, no force on Remnant could keep Velvet from being right there with her. Considering they're getting married in a few months, I think that gives Coco if not a legal right to be here, a substantial moral one." Weiss jerked her head, gesturing Coco toward the bed, as if to say, _You_ _check on_ _Velvet, I will handle this._

'Velvet doesn't need that, that arrogant little bitch, and I won't allow them to get married. She's going to marry a nice Faunus boy, I happen to know a few suitable young men." Vanessa tried to step to one side of Weiss, trying to keep Coco away from Velvet, but Weiss kept her from interfering. Teach me to dance, will you?

"So are you racist, homophobic, or both?" Weiss said, one finger jabbing Velvet's mother in the chest, crowding her in order to keep her attention focused on Weiss long enough for Coco to slip past them. "Open your eyes and _look_ , really look, not just at Coco, or Velvet, but at _Coco and Velvet._ Or I will see how hard I have to throw you to break that window."

"Honey-bun?" Coco whispered, bending down and taking Velvet's hand in hers. "I'm back, baby. I just needed some reinforcements. It's Weiss, I know you don't like her much, but she stood up to your mom for me. And kinda threatened to throw her through a window, but I don't think she really meant it." Careful not to dislodge any of the tubes and wires Velvet was connected to, Coco lifted Velvet's hand, resting it against her cheek. "Come back to me, please," Coco whispered, her voice an anguished prayer, tears rolling down her cheeks from under her sunglasses.

"Velvet and Coco are the best thing that ever happened to each other, and they both know it without either of them having to say it," Weiss murmured quietly to Vanessa, trying to keep Coco from overhearing. "Coco brought Velvet out of her shell, and Velvet brought Coco down to earth. They compliment each other perfectly if one has eyes to see." She sniffed. There was a smell, disturbing and familiar, and one that definitely did not belong in a hospital. Weiss took another sniff, stepping toward the bed, and the smell got stronger. "Coco," she said a bit more loudly, "I need you to tell me what happened to Velvet. And I need you to tell me everything, even part you're terrified to tell anyone about because they'll think you're crazy."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Weiss?"

The white-haired girl sighed as the two of them rode the elevator up to Velvet's room. "As certain as I can be, Ruby. Velvet, well, she has the same smell on her that I smelled in the carriage house. Sort of rot and, well, wrongness. I think it's the smell of Grimm, but I'm not sure. Which is why I called you."

"Well," Ruby paused, chewing her lip in thought. "I've never noticed a smell about Grimm before, but maybe it's just that I'm so used to it, I don't notice it anymore."

"Maybe. But," Weiss shrugged, "at least there's one bright spot in all this: I have my car back, at least until the end of the day. So, burgers and fries after we check out Velvet?"

"Sounds like a plan," Ruby said with a laugh as the doors opened.

Inside the room, Coco pulled Weiss off to one side as Velvet's mother paced in the hallway outside, swearing profusely at someone on her phone. "Are you serious?" Coco hissed, glancing at Ruby. "It's bad enough Velvet's in the hospital, but we're calling in the Beacon Academy's resident nutcase to figure out what happened to her? Are we that desperate?"

Weiss winced when she saw Ruby hesitate in looking Velvet over before continuing. "Please have an open mind, Coco. You're the one that said Velvet was attacked by some sort of shadow monster, after all."

"Yeah, but-"

"Coco." Weiss waggled a single manicured finger in front of her friend's face, silencing her. "You may rest assured of two facts: One, Ruby is something of an expert in… spiritual matters, if you will. And two, she's not going to tell anyone about what you saw. Ruby has secrets of her own." _So do I._

"But-" Coco fell silent as Ruby stood up. "Weiss, come here for a second." When Weiss got closer, Ruby tilted her hand so she could see the moonstone pendant hidden in her hand, glowing fitfully. "Sometimes, after someone's attacked, there's a residue. Velvet's covered in it," Ruby said quietly.

"Residue? What kind of residue? What's that mean? How do we get it off her?" Suddenly Coco was right behind them, peering down at Ruby's hand. "Explain things to me, dammit!"

"I'd like an explanation myself." Velvet's mother stood in the doorway, giving them all a cold glare. "Starting with what the hell you were just doing to my daughter."

Ruby glanced at Weiss out of the corner of her eye, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "I was checking your daughter for evidence that she'd been attacked by an evil spirit. Sometimes they get strong enough that they can attack someone physically, like Velvet was."

"And?"

"It looks like Velvet was attacked, by something powerful." Ruby turned toward Coco. "Coco, Weiss said you saw it attack her?"

"Yeah." Coco glanced at Vanessa for a moment before shrugging. Fuck it, she might as well admit everything she'd seen. "We were headed downstairs, going to work together for once. Velvet felt good enough today, she thought she might be able to work a whole shift. But when we got to the elevator, she realized she'd forgotten her meds and started to go back for them. I, I got promoted, so we could afford more of her medication, and she made a point of taking them all the time now, so I'd know how much she appreciated it."

"You can't afford all of her medication? How much has she been getting?" Vanessa interrupted, giving Coco a challenging look.

"About half," Coco admitted with a sigh. "I work two jobs, but I got promoted at one, so we can afford more of the stuff that makes her comfortable, not just the ones that keep her alive."

"If you can't take proper care of her, just get out of her life and let me take care of it!" Vanessa yelled, taking a step toward Coco.

"I-" Coco said, taking a step backward.

"Enough," Weiss interrupted, getting between the two of them. "Coco is doing the best she can to take care of Velvet, consider that both of them got kicked by their parents, and blacklisted on top of that."

"Both of you? Blacklisted?" Vanessa looked stunned.

"Yeah." Coco looked away, not wanting Vanessa to see the tears she was squeezing her eyes shut to hide. "My parents, they threw me out the minute they found out about me and Velvet. And all of a sudden, those internships I worked so hard to get, they suddenly disappeared. At least you waited until Velvet's eighteenth birthday, so she could stock up on her meds some."

"I didn't know," Vanessa said softly.

"You didn't care. All you cared about was that I wasn't part of your 'plan' for Velvet."

Weiss cleared her throat. "As much as the two of you really need to have this conversation, I think it might be better to discuss this after Velvet is awake. And our window of opportunity to do something about her attacker is limited."

"Tell me what you saw," Ruby said quietly to Coco. "And don't leave out the crazy parts."

"The light was out at the bend in the walkway where you turn to head for our place," Coco said quietly, looking at Velvet. "She stopped and looked back at me, waiting by the elevator. Velvet laughed and told me not to wait, that I was going to be late for work and lose my promotion, or maybe even get fired. And that's when I saw it."

"It swooped out of nowhere, raking her with its claws and trying to pull her off the walkway. I screamed and ran toward her, swinging my purse at it. The, the purse, it was all I had handy. I guess I startled it because it ran. And all I could do was call nine-one-one and hold her till the ambulance came," Coco finished, then pulled off her sunglasses and wiped her eyes, surrendering to her grief and rage.

Vanessa just guided Coco to the chair next to Velvet's bed. "Just rest, I'll talk to them." She stood up, regarding Weiss and Ruby questioningly. "Let's say I believe this nonsense about shadow monsters. What's the next step? How do you intend to help my daughter?"

"I can't do anything for Velvet that the doctors aren't already doing," Ruby said, shaking her head. "But what I can do is take care of the thing that did this to her, and make sure it doesn't hurt anyone else, ever again."

"I see." Velvet's mother nodded carefully. "Vengeance, and perhaps a bit of good karma, then. You take care of this and I will reward you appropriately."

"What we want," Weiss said, just short of snarling at Velvet's mother, "is for you to give Coco a chance to prove herself to you. You don't know what Coco gave up, how hard she's worked to try and take care of Velvet. Just give her the same chance you might have given to anyone else Velvet might have brought home."

* * *

"So why are you so hell-bent on taking care of these friends of yours?" Ruby asked as they pulled up to Coco and Velvet's apartment building.

Weiss shut off the car and leaned back in her seat, taking slow deep breaths. She did not need to lash out at Ruby over a reasonable question. "Because before they graduated, Coco and Velvet were two of my best friends. My only real friends, I suppose. I even, I even paid for some of Velvet's medication, until my mother started asking very pointed questions about my spending habits." She laughed. "She thought I was on drugs."

"Nah, you don't seem the type. I don't see you liking being chained to anything."

"No, I don't," Weiss said softly, rubbing her left wrist. "So where do we start first?"

"Break out the arsenal and head where it attacked Velvet," Ruby said with a smile, trying to dispel whatever gloom that had overcome Weiss.

'Break out the arsenal' Ruby said. Weiss suppressed a groan when they reached the elevator and saw someone already waiting, eyes glued to his phone. As they started upward, the man turned his head a little, then looked again. "Uh..." he said, not sure how to begin.

"We're ghost hunters. Hear this place is pretty haunted," Ruby said, barely missing a beat in chewing her gum.

"With a crossbow? And chainmail?"

"Ever seen a pissed-off ghost? They get pretty rowdy. And the mail's not plain old steel, it's silvered and blessed and stuff."

"Riight." The man started to take a step away from Ruby, then reconsidered when he saw the sword at Weiss' hip.

Thankfully, their stop was first. "He saw the gear, "Weiss hissed as soon as the doors were closed.

"People tend to ignore the strange and unusual," Ruby answered, shaking her head. "Guess I need to re-do the nevermind charms on our stuff."

"Ruby..."

"What?" Ruby shrugged at Weiss, hands spread wide in apology. "I've been a little busy, training up a new partner, burning down a carriage house. You know, stuff. And I've got to make your armor too."

"I had a thought about armor." Weiss tilted her head to one side, thinking. "Could we hide armor inside the lining of heavy coats, like a duffel coat or something like that? It'd muffle the sound, and this time of year, a heavy coat wouldn't look too odd."

Ruby grinned, nodding. "And cloth takes spells better than metal does if it's natural fiber. Embroider the runes into the fabric, in thread the same color as the cloth-"

"Now we're getting ahead of ourselves," Weiss interrupted, finding an excited smile spreading across her face. "Let's go find the Grimm that attacked Velvet."

"Right. "Ruby looked around the landing they stood on. This particular apartment complex had walkways running around the outside of the building so people could reach their apartments. "Swoop," Ruby said, looking at the trees surrounding the building.

"Excuse me?"

"Coco said it swooped down at Velvet. Swoop implies flight. We're looking for a Nevermore, or something like it, and a big one." She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Nevermores like to perch or nest somewhere high, a big tree or something. And the big ones are pretty territorial, so that would explain the lack of smaller Grimm. It's probably eating them."

Weiss blinked. "Grimm _eat_ each other?" she asked incredulously.

"And fight over territory, at least the big ones do. Little ones tend to roam in packs, safety in numbers, I guess. Let's head for the roof."

When they opened the door to the roof, the same acrid smell that had been faint on Velvet hit washed over them, assaulting their senses. "I think," Ruby said, fighting the urge to gag, "I think it's nesting on the roof."

"They make nests?" Weiss' eyes were watering. "How much like a bird is this thing?"

"Some Grimm are a lot like the animals they resemble," Ruby said, pulling her crossbow off her shoulder and loading it. "Others, well, they're more human in aspect or just freaky random shit. But Nevermores, well, they're pretty much birds of prey. Little ones will flock together, harassing people, and big ones, well..."

"Velvet," Weiss said, her mouth a thin grim line."

"Velvet," agreed Ruby.

"How big is this thing likely to be?"

"I don't know," Ruby answered. "If it was big enough to attack a person, at least a ten-foot wingspan, I guess."

"You guess?" Weiss snapped at Ruby, instantly regretting it as Ruby melted under her glare.

"Look, I, um, I usually don't go after the big ones, not on purpose." Ruby sighed. "I've been working on my own, and I get around on the bus, to keep Yang and my dad from knowing what I'm doing. That kinda limits my hunting range."

Weiss nodded. "I see. That does make sense. But we're getting you a driver's license as soon as possible."

"I… can't get one."

"Why not?"

"Seriously mentally ill, remember? I'm too 'crazy' for them to let me drive."

Weiss didn't say a word, just reaching out and laying a hand on Ruby's arm. Ruby nodded and took a hand from her crossbow, laying it on top of Weiss', nodding her head in silent thanks before tilting it toward the roof spread out before them.

It was eerie. They could _smell_ the Grimm, feel its presence in how it made their skin crawl, but they couldn't find it. Finally, Ruby grimaced and lowered her crossbow. "Maybe it's out hunting?"

"Just our luck." Weiss paused, tilting her head. "Wait, do you hear that? It's coming from up there." She gestured toward the top of the water tank with her sword. "It almost sounds like… baby birds or something."

Carefully Weiss climbed the access ladder to the top of the tank, Ruby standing ready with her crossbow. She uttered a muffled curse at what she saw, then leaned over the edge. "Come on up, Ruby. I'm pretty sure this is one for the 'weird Grimm shit' category."

On top of the water tank was a crude _nest_ of sorts, a bizarre mockery of the sort of nest a normal bird might make. Bits of trash, car parts, and what Ruby hoped were animal bodies made up most of the mass. But square in the middle was the most bizarre thing of all. "Baby Nevermores?" Ruby asked, her voice somewhere between disgust and utter disbelief.

Weiss just shook her head. "You said Grimm are corrupted, evil spirits, some of them at least. Is it possible that this is just, I don't know, the 'mother' Nevermore just acting out some sort of twisted maternal urge?"

They watched as the baby Nevermores sat in the nest, hissing and snapping at the two of them, trying desperately to reach them.

Finally, Ruby raised her crossbow. "Well, babies or not, we'd better take them out."

"I'll do it." Weiss' face was carved in stone. "You've got our only ranged weapon; if mama comes back, we'll want you to be ready."

"Yeah," agreed Ruby. "It was a lot easier to build a crossbow than it was to get my hands on a gun."

Weiss slashed down with sword at the nestling on the right, jerking her arm back to avoid a lunge by the one in the middle. An unsettling cry rose from the throats of two remaining baby Grimm, and Ruby felt a shiver run down her spine as something out over the city answered it. "Sounds like we're going to have company, Weiss. Be fast." Weiss just nodded, stabbing the one in the middle, then decapitating the left-hand nestling as it lunged for her.

"Their mother is going to be very angry," Weiss said, moving to stand by Ruby. "We should get down before-"

An _enormous_ black bird flew up over the side of the building, hovering in midair and screaming its rage at them. Weiss paled and reflexively took a step back as she realized its wings had to be at least twenty feet across. Ruby just brought her crossbow up to her shoulder, muttering "Lunchtime, birdie," under her breath as she lined up her shot.

The bolt missed the Nevermore's mouth, hitting it in the throat and bursting into eldritch green flame. "What's _in_ that thing?" Weiss yelled as she dived to one side, desperately avoiding the mother Nevermore's dive.

"Oh, you know, blessed water, silver, cold iron, just the usual," Ruby gasped as she fished out another bolt and struggled to reload the crossbow as fast as possible. "Wasn't too sure what would super piss off a Grimm, so I went with 'everything.' Weiss, you head down the ladder, I'll cover you."

Weiss nodded, sheathing her sword and heading down the ladder. Before she lost sight of Ruby, she looked her partner in the eyes and said, "You better be right behind me." Before Ruby could answer, the mama Nevermore dived again, screeching as its wing clipped the ladder.

Ruby cursed and fired off a quick shot, hitting the Grimm in the middle of its wing. Then her jaw dropped as she realized that Weiss had landed on the Nevermore's _back_.

The Nevermore flew up again, wings struggling under the girl's weight. Weiss, meanwhile, was clinging to its back with one hand, her other fighting to draw her sword. "I am probably going to die today," she gasped, _"but you hurt my friend and I am taking you with me."_ Finally, the sword came loose and she hacked awkwardly at the Grimm's wing.

Down below, Ruby shook herself, then reloaded her crossbow as fast as she could. "Need to add, I dunno, some sort of motor to help me reload this thing faster. Hang on, Weiss," she muttered, sighting in on the Grimm carrying her friend. _I've got to put this thing on the ground before it gets too high._

Ruby pulled the trigger and the Grimm dropped, whether from Ruby's shot or Weiss' hacking, there was no way of telling. The brunette rushed down the ladder as fast as she could, jumping the last few feet and running to the edge of the roof. "Weiss!" she yelled, not caring who heard her. She had to find her partner before it was too late.

Down below, Weiss lay on top of the dissolving Grimm. Ruby couldn't help but smile as Weiss used her sword to force herself to her feet, looking up at the roof and giving Ruby a weak thumbs-up.

The moment was broken when car alarms across the parking lot went off, including the one from the car Weiss and the Grimm had landed on.

* * *

When they returned to Velvet's room, Vanessa raised a finger to her lips, silencing them before leading them outside. "The doctors say there's no telling when Velvet will wake up, but the prognosis is good."

"And Coco?" asked Weiss. She'd seen Coco asleep in the chair by Velvet's bed, slumped over so it lay next to Velvet.

"Resting, finally. The poor girl was so distraught, I had to tell her three times she's not allowed to smoke in a hospital room, but she refused to leave Velvet's side."

"Just don't tell Velvet Coco was smoking, although I'm sure she'll know anyway."

"I won't" Vanessa drew a deep breath. "I also gave Coco's boss a piece of my mind when he called to demand that Coco come to work anyway, even with her fiancee in the hospital. Imagine, he wanted my Velvet's fiancee to come to work when the love of her life is fighting to survive. I think I may have gotten her fired. I also called my health insurance and reactivated Velvet's coverage, so this should be covered, and all of her medications. Now," Vanessa's eyes narrowed, "did you get it? Did you take care of the… thing that hurt Velvet?"

"We did. Are you going to keep our bargain?" Weiss asked, wincing and trying not to let how much she hurt show.

"You're hurt. You should see a doctor," Vanessa said, her head turning toward the nurse's station.

"I'm fine, I can't-"

"Dear." Vanessa's voice was firm. "I understand the discrete nature of your work, but if you think a doctor can't be persuaded to keep things to themselves sometimes, you have a lot to learn. Let me take care of you. Consider it a rider on our agreement, which I am more than happy to arrange additional compensation for."

"Hey," Ruby said, from where she was standing by the door, "Velvet's stirring. Might need a doctor or something."

* * *

 **What can I say, I'm a sucker for some crosshares? Because Velvet is absolutely adorable.**


	8. Chapter 8

"Coco, Velvet, we're here."

Velvet stirred from where she'd been snuggled up in the back seat of her mother's SUV. She was still recovering from her attack by… whatever it had been. There was more to the story than her mother and Coco were telling her, but right now she didn't have the strength to get it out of them.

"Where are we?" Coco muttered sleepily, looking out the car's windows. "This isn't our apartment."

Velvet smiled a little when she realized that Coco must have fallen asleep too. They'd been so exhausted, Velvet from her injuries and Coco from taking care of Velvet. She didn't think Coco had been away from her more than an hour or two the whole week she'd been in the hospital. Every time Velvet had opened her eyes, Coco had been there, either waiting for Velvet to wake up or asleep in the chair by Velvet's bed. Velvet's mother practically had to blackmail Coco into returning home for a shower and a change of clothes.

The rabbit-eared girl sat up, reaching for her crutch even as she looked out the windows. Okay, she at least knew _where_ they were, if not _why._ "Mother, why are we at your guest house?"

Vanessa sighed. She was going to hate this. Humble and apologetic were two things she did not do well. "Velvet, Coco… your friend Weiss convinced me that I had been rather harsh with the two of you." This brought a bark of laughter from Velvet. Knowing Weiss, the 'convincing' had probably been more like outright bullying! Weiss was a good person, really, but when she took up one of her crusades, well, it was probably just best to give her what she wanted and hope she went away.

Undaunted, Vanessa continued. "So I am going to do my best to help you out without smothering the two of you. I'll pay for Velvet's medication until you get to a point where you can really afford it. And, um, I thought I'd offer the guest house to the two of you, so you're not having to pay rent or utilities. I saw where you were living, and I know you were having a hard time paying for even some of Velvet's medication. Please say yes."

Coco just pulled down her sunglasses and looked at Velvet as if to say, _it's your call, babe._

Velvet took a deep breath. "No meddling, right? You let us live our lives, no threatening to throw us out or cut off my meds if we don't do something you want?"

"It… hurts that you have to ask that question, but yes, no meddling. If you don't want to talk to me you don't." Vanessa sighed. "At least give it a couple of months? Please? I-I'm trying oh so hard, Velvet, I really am."

Velvet scowled at her mother. "And I also remember losing one of my medications two days after I left and going for a refill. Kind of a shock finding out my insurance was canceled that fast, Mother. Two. Days. I spent hours crying." Coco had been one step short of beating the crap out of Velvet's mother; it had taken all the energy Velvet had been able to spare to talk her out of it.

Vanessa winced. "That… that was a poor decision, and I'll do anything to make it up to you. You just… you're so precious to me, and when I heard you were with Coco, well, she had such a reputation..." Vanessa was fighting to keep the shock off her face. Her Velvet would never talk to her like this-! Then she realized, the young woman in front of her wasn't _her_ Velvet anymore, was she? Nor was she really Coco's. There wasn't any sense of ownership, more of partnership and trust. "But I should have listened to other less, and trusted you more, and looked and listened for myself."

Now it was Coco's turn to look embarrassed. "I did kinda earn that reputation, babe."

Velvet punched Coco in the arm playfully. "Nah, you just got it in your head that that's how you were supposed to act. Didn't take you that long to learn better, did it? Alright, we'll move into the guest house, at least for a while. But," she continued, just as her mother was starting to smile, "no dropping by unannounced, and no going in when we're not home. And we'll see about maybe having dinner with you sometimes when our work allows. Where's dad, anyway?"

"Your father is on a dig in Vacuo. He was torn about coming home or staying, but the permits for that dig were utter hell to get, and I promised him that I'd keep him updated. And yes, I talked to him about letting you stay in the guest house. He will be back for no less than two weeks starting Tuesday. That will give you a few days to get settled." Vanessa's eyes turned to Coco. "He said he's looking forward to meeting this girl Velvet settled down with. Said that if I didn't take this chance to make amends with the two of you, he'd take care of it on his own terms."

"Sounds like a guy I'd like to meet. Well," Coco shrugged, "I've got no real objection. Beats the digs we've got, and you having all your medication is a big deal, hun. You want to stay here and catch up with your mom while I rustle up some help and get our stuff moved?"

"Um," Velvet's mother was looking embarrassed. "I may have overstepped my bounds..."

"Mother, _what did you do?"_ You wouldn't think a tiny rabbit-eared girl who used a crutch to walk on a good day could be intimidating, but at that particular moment, Vanessa was terrified of her daughter.

"Well, um, I got a little carried away, getting everything ready for you, the guest house hadn't been used in a while, and, um, I already had everything from your apartment boxed up and moved here," Vanessa finished weakly, afraid to look her daughter in the eye.

"We will discuss that transgression later _at length,_ Mother. Come on, Coco, I'll give you the tour."

Velvet and Coco couldn't help but smile when they saw what was waiting for them on the kitchen counter. Neither one of them had remembered their first anniversary, and in a blind panic, they'd bought each other a coffee cup. Velvet smiled as she picked up hers. It bore the image of an absolutely adorable and ridiculously well-armed rabbit with the words 'Killer Rabbit' underneath. Coco's was even more ridiculous, with a woman skinny-dipping in a mug and the words 'Hot Chocolate.' Okay, for this gesture, Velvet could forgive her mother for assuming they'd take the guest house.

"I left them out because they seemed to get the most use. Might I trouble you for a cup of coffee? We might as well start on that catching up. And I promise not to bring up the contents of a certain drawer in your bedroom."

"Mother!"

After they had very gently and politely run Vanessa off, Coco and Velvet stood in the guest house's kitchen. Well, Coco stood; Velvet leaned on one of the counters. "Well?" she asked quietly.

Coco looked up, not certain what to say. 'Well, what?"

Velvet snorted. "Something's eating you. Is it living here, in my mom's guest house? I know we're gonna be really tight, with you losing one of your jobs, but if my mom's picking up my meds, we can save up some money and be out of here pretty quick."

"It's not that. Well, not exactly." Coco sighed and set her sunglasses on the counter, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Yeah, she'd lost one of her jobs, but thankfully it was the one that paid less. "It's… Velv, I just want to take care of you, and every time I try to do that, I fuck it up. I worked two jobs, and it still wasn't enough for all of your meds. And then that, that _thing_ attacked you, and all I could do was throw my purse at it. I couldn't _stop_ it, Velvet, I tried, but I couldn't stop it."

"Hey." Velvet walked over and took the mug from Coco's hands, setting it on the counter and sliding her arms around Coco's waist. "Yeah, all you did was hit it with your purse, but _you charged a monster armed with nothing but a purse._ You did that for me.

"Coco… At first, I was really wary of you, but then I saw it. You've got a heart like a lioness, and you'll do what it takes for your friends. Remember that date when your phone rang, and I was so mad, but you looked at me and said, 'But it's Yatsuhashi'? His van had broken down on the way to a gig. All he was asking for was a ride home, but you rented a van and got him and Fox and their gear to the gig. Then we stayed for their gig and got them home." Velvet looked up at Coco, her head tilted to one side, a grin spreading wide across her face. "Because when it comes to the people you treasure, there aren't any half-measures. You just get them what they need. Now, no more whining. I've been lying in a hospital bed for a week, and you've been sleeping in the chair next to me, so neither one of us has been getting much rest. So what we're going to do now is head upstairs to the bedroom, where I will take your shoes off and give you a foot rub. And _then_ we're going to crawl into bed and sleep ourselves out."

"But I've got to call work, and make sure I've still got the other job, and..." Coco protested weakly. She had so much to do, but Velvet was right, she was so tired, tired down to the bone. And she had to find some way to repay what she owed Weiss for helping out for this, this whatever it was.

"Bedroom. Shoes off. Foot rub. Sleep. Now."

* * *

Ruby couldn't help but shudder every time she stepped through the doors of Beacon's library. It's not that the place was creepy. Yeah, it was one of the oldest buildings on campus, but it was thoroughly renovated and modernized, with good lighting and air conditioning and heating that did a great job of keeping the students comfortable. And it wasn't that Ruby hated schoolwork or reading, well not exactly. She was just usually more focused on hunting Grimm, that was all.

No, Ruby knew exactly what her problem was with the library.

It was the head librarian.

Carefully Ruby scanned the room, searching for any sign of her nemesis. Nope, all clear. Nothing but shelf upon shelf of books, receding into the distance, and nobody in sight except one girl sitting at one of the tables, a multicolored backpack sitting next to her. Well, Ruby guessed that this was as good a place as any to study. Then the girl stretched and leaned back in her chair, and Ruby's jaw hit the floor. _"Neo?"_ she squeaked, surprised.

The other girl's head whipped around, and a smile erupted across her face. Neo ran over and hugged Ruby, burying her face in Ruby's shoulder. Then she stepped back, her hands flashing sign language. _I was worried about you. I missed you. Are you okay?_

"Yeah, Neo, I'm doing good." Ruby took a quick look around, then leaned forward and whispered to Neo, "I found somebody else that sees the monsters, and she's helping me hunt them now."

Neo gave a thumbs-up. _It's good to have friends. And what about your family? You're back with them, right? Do they know?_

Ruby shook her head with a laugh. "I'm with my family, but they won't believe me. They're glad I made a friend, though. And she's helping me act more normal. But what about you? How'd you get out of there?"

Neo's face fell. _They still don't know who killed my parents, but at least they don't think I did it anymore. But that's not the best part._ Once again Neo smiled, and her hands slowed down. _I found someone to take me in. Right now I'm a foster kid, but she says she's hoping she can adopt me. It'll be hard, though._

"Nice. Hopefully, you two can make that happen. Hey, is she one of the teachers? What's her name, I probably-"

A hand came down on Ruby's collarbone, seizing it in an iron grip. "Is she bothering you, Neo? Ms. Rose, I think you need to leave."

Ruby gulped. Normally Ms. Fall's attitude could be called 'smarmy,' but right now she looked downright pissed. "I, uh, I was just-"

Neo's hands flashed quickly as she gave Cinder an annoyed look. _It's okay, mom. Ruby was just saying hi. She's the friend I mentioned, her from the institution._

"Oh, I see." It was like flipping a switch. Before the first syllable was out of her mouth, Ms. Fall was back to smarmy. "So you're the one that was such a friend to my dear Neo. Well, I hate to break up your little reunion, but you'll have plenty of time to catch up later. I've taken Neo in as a foster child, and she'll be attending Beacon. As soon as she finishes her admittance paperwork," Cinder paused to give Neo a look, "I'll be taking her to see deputy headmaster Goodwitch." Neo looked embarrassed and gave Ruby a quick sign for _Later_ before sitting back down at her table, writing furiously. "Now, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I, uh, I was supposed to meet Weiss Schnee here. We, we're working on a project together." Dammit, what was it about Ms. Fall that mad Ruby so damn flustered?

"Oh, I see. She was headed toward the study rooms upstairs with an armful of books and papers."

Weiss looked up when Ruby stuck her head into the study room. "There you are, Ruby. I had a thought this morning in Mr. Port's history class." She tapped her finger on the map of Vale spread out before her. "I've been thinking about some of the things you've said, about the problems you've encountered in your hunts, and how I can help you solve them. The first problem we have is your limited mobility, given that you aren't likely to ever have a driver's license."

"Rub it in, why don't you," Ruby muttered as she sat down, looking at the mess Weiss had strewn across the table.

"I..." Weiss stopped; dammit, she'd put her foot in her mouth again. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I was about to say that problem is solved now since I've joined you on the hunt. My car also lets you store more equipment than fits in a backpack. And a duffle bag is rather noticeable." She sighed. "I'll even let you call it the Huntress-mobile, like you've been trying to."

That snapped Ruby out of her funk. "Yes!" she hissed, pumping her fist.

Now Weiss smiled. "I also found some padded equipment cases to keep our gear in, and I am in the process of sourcing those armored coats we discussed. The need for discretion is a complicating factor. There are also other ways I think we can improve our equipment, including a flatbed scanner so we can scan in all those notebooks of yours. I believe there's a lot of useful information in there, but it will be more useful if it's more accessible."

"Wow, you've really been putting some thought into this." Ruby rested her chin on her hand, a glum expression on her face. "Kinda makes me feel second-rate."

"Ruby." Weiss reached over and took Ruby's unoccupied hand in hers. "Don't ever feel that. 'If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.' You did so much, and all by yourself. I'm just, I'm just making things a bit more organized. It'll help us hunt the Grimm better, help more people. Now, our last hurdle is intelligence.

The white-haired girl sighed and gave her partner an encouraging smile. "Ruby, with me joining you and learning as fast as I can, we're going to be able to expand our hunts by a lot. But we'll be more effective if we know where there's Grimm to hunt. So I've been hunting for reports of strange occurrences on Facebook, that kind of thing. And I think I've got our first hit."

One of Weiss' manicured fingers tapped the map again. "Over here in the Shining Hills district, they recently renovated a park, to go with the new low-income housing built beside it. It's the sort of feel-good project politicians use to get reelected. The park's always had a poor reputation, but now it's got one for being haunted. Sound like our kind of thing?"

Ruby sat back in her chair, stunned. How in the hell had Weiss pulled all this together?  
"I, I don't know what to say, Weiss. I mean, I've just been hunting Grimm I find that I think I can take down, not going looking for them. All of this stuff you're suggesting, it's kinda, kinda..."

"Too much?" Weiss asked, wincing.

"Yeah." The redhead sighed. "I mean, don't get me wrong, but aren't people going to notice we're spending all our time together? And doing a lot of hunting is gonna be expensive. I don't know if I can afford it."

"Don't worry about the cost," Weiss said, shaking her head with a smirk. "Mother pays little attention to what I spend, as long as I don't max my credit cards too often. And as for us spending too much time together,"—she drew a deep breath—"my mother has already asked when she's going to be officially introduced to my girlfriend. Meaning you."

Ruby stared in shock at Weiss for a long moment, then burst out laughing. "Oh man, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard. I mean, you're really gorgeous and everything, but, um, I don't think I'm into girls, I mean, I haven't really thought about it yet, the whole mental illness and hunting invisible monsters thing hasn't really left me a lot of time for romance, and, um, I don't really think a princess like you would be interested in a weirdo like me. Right?" she finished, giving Weiss an uncertain look.

Weiss just shook her head. "I don't think you're a weirdo, Ruby. You've just… you've seen some unsettling things, and, well, haven't had someone to help you deal with them. That kind of thing leaves marks." She rubbed her wrist as she continued. "And besides, if you're a weirdo, so am I."

"Yep! Weirdo besties for life!"

"Please don't say that again. Ever."

Outside, Blake sighed. It was worse than she'd feared. Weiss wasn't helping Ruby, she was actively encouraging her delusions. She'd have to talk to Yang about it.

* * *

"Fuck." Yang's fist pounded into the dashboard. "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck." Yang sighed, leaning back. "I should have known it was too good to be true. Ruby makes a friend, starts acting all normal, and it turns out Weiss has been encouraging her craziness. Dad's gonna have kittens. Sorry," she added as the ears on top of Blake's head flicked in annoyance.

"It's not your fault, Yang." Blake's attention was firmly on her driving; what had been predicted as a light first fall snow was coming down heavily and sticking to the road. "Who wouldn't feel relieved when someone who's had as many problems as Ruby started acting normal?"

"Yeah." The blonde sighed, looking out her window. "I still feel shitty though. I mean, once it looked like Weiss was really helping Ruby, I stopped paying so much attention. And, well, it let me pay more attention to you. I love you so much, babe, and taking care of Ruby takes time away from you."

A rush of heat spread across Blake's cheeks. "R-Right," she said, glancing at Yang. "Listen, we'll talk to your dad, and see what he has to say. Maybe, maybe we can talk to Weiss, find out-"

"Blake, road!" Yang yelled.

Too late. In the moment Blake's eyes had been off the road, something had jumped out in the road. She pulled the wheel to one side, trying to avoid the collision, but the car skidded out of control. They plowed through the guardrail, rolling down the hillside beyond.

"I l-" Yang began but didn't finish it before the darkness overcame her.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry this one took so long, but the opening scene didn't want to come together. I rewrote it three times! Anyway, here it is, and I hope everyone is pleased with the result!**

 **Also, this story has passed the 300 followers mark. Woohoo!**

* * *

Something orange kept stabbing into Blake's brain, each pulse driving deep into her eye through to the back of her skull. The pain brought with it clarity, and then a thought coalesced in her mind: _My blinker's on. Why is my blinker on? Wait, I'm in the car, I was driving with Yang, and something ran out in the road, and then… Yang!_ She whipped her head around, searching frantically for Yang, panic overriding the agony movement brought.

There, there was Yang, hanging from the ceiling like an animal waiting to be slaughtered. Wait, why was Yang hanging like that? No, she wasn't hanging from the ceiling, the car was upside-down, it must have rolled when they went off the road. Blake was hanging upside-down too. Laughter burst from her chest, dispelling the panic she felt, and for once, Blake was glad that her mother had imposed a no-exceptions rule about seatbelts in the car. She stretched out a hand, trying to see if Yang was okay. At her touch, Yang moaned, swaying slightly in the seatbelt. Moaning, moaning was good. It meant that Yang was alive. Other things could we dealt with later, as long as help arrived in time.

Music started to play, coming from Yang's pocket, and Blake was puzzled to recognize it as Oingo Boingo's "Insanity." Then she realized it must be coming from Yang's phone, and she scrambled to find it before the music stopped. The clip played a few more times before it shut off, and Blake realized it must be a custom ringtone, just one that she didn't recognize. She sighed as she remembered that Yang normally kept her phone in her right butt pocket, exactly where Blake couldn't reach it right now. Then her own phone rang, making Blake fish it out frantically, desperate not to drop it and cut herself off from any hope of rescue. "H-Hello?" she stammered.

"Blake?" It was Ruby, and Blake resolved to have a word with Yang about that particular ringtone. "Um, I know I've never called you before, but Yang isn't answering and I was wondering if you know where she is."

"Ruby, oh thank god. We-we were in a wreck, we were almost to your house and something jumped out in the road, and I swerved and, and-"

"Blake. Take a deep breath and calm down." Weiss had the phone now. "How close to the house are you? What kind of shape are you and Yang in?"

"I, I don't know. M-Maybe ten minutes? I, I hurt a lot, but I think I could move if I had to. Yang, Yang's breathing, but she's not awake. Th-the car's upside-down, we're hanging by our seatbelts." Blake turned her head gingerly, trying to peer out the windows. "I-I can't see much outside, I'm sorry."

"Blake." Ruby again. "Where were you coming from? School, your house, somewhere else?"

"M-My house. We had dinner with my parents."

"Okay. I know the way. Weiss, call nine-one-one on your phone, and we'll head that way ourselves. We're coming, Blake. You've done good."

Blake would have sagged with relief if she hadn't been hanging like a side of beef. Then a scratching at the car found more adrenaline she would have thought exhausted for a lifetime. "H-Hurry. Something, something's scratching at the car, a bear or something."

"We're coming, Blake. Just, just don't panic, okay?"

Panic, hell. She was _angry._ And no way was she about to tell Ruby what she was about to do.

Blake squirmed around in her seat, trying to plant her feet against the door despite the seatbelt. She gave it a couple of experimental kicks. No good, she couldn't get enough leverage. "Blake, what are you doing?"

"Trying to open my door, I thought I might be able to see where I am if I got out."

"Stay in the car." Weiss again. "It's warm and safe there. Blake, I've got the nine-one-one operator on the line. Someone is on the way. They might even beat us there."

"Right. I'll stay right here." Yeah, right. Her hand crept toward the seatbelt latch. At first, it didn't want to give, but then Blake found herself tumbling to the floor in a heap. She moaned.

"Blake?" Ruby asked, worry in her voice.

"Seatbelt gave. Hit the floor. Hurts like hell." She rolled over, setting her legs against the door. "Good news, it'll be easier to kick the door open now."

"I thought you were going to stay in the car." Now Weiss sounded worried.

"I am _nobody's_ damsel in distress," Blake yelled, screaming as her aching muscles protested her first try at opening the door.

"Blake, listen to me. The operator is saying you should stay in the car. It's really cold out there, and you could be badly injured."

The second kick popped the latch, but the door jammed on something else. "I think we can take that as a given. And the door's open now. Ruby, promise me something. If, if I don't make it, you tell Yang I loved her. Tell my parents too, tell them how I felt about her. Promise me, Ruby."

"That's panic and fear talking, Blake."

"Just promise me, okay? It'll make me feel better." Blake kept kicking the door, widening the gap by inches. Then it stuck solid, against a tree or something, maybe. It might be open enough by now.

"I promise, but I'm not going to have to keep that promise, okay? Right?"

"Right," Blake grunted, crawling through the gap, glad for once that she didn't have Yang's big boobs. Not that she minded Yang's boobs normally. Her mind wandered to Yang's curvy figure for a moment, then Blake shook her head and kept crawling, grunting with the effort. This wasn't the time to be thinking about how sexy her girlfriend was.

Eventually, she managed to get herself out enough to see that her door wasn't stuck against a tree, it was jammed up against an immense boulder. The front driver's side fender was jammed against it too. Probably what stopped the car's motion. She dragged herself up to her feet, leaning against the car, gasping for breath. "Boulder, the car's up against a boulder. I, I can't really see the road, but I think I can see where the car came in. There, there's a cliff up there, I think. It, it's really dark. Glad I've got good night vision."

"Faunus are normally above average in that respect." Blake could hear Weiss relaying what she said to the operator. "Just, just stay there, okay? Don't go looking for the road. You're our best chance of getting help for Yang."

Dammit, Weiss knew how to push her buttons, didn't she? "Ice bitch," Blake muttered under her breath, staggering towards the back of the car. Road flares. She thought there were road flares in the trunk.

"Say that to my face when you see me," Weiss answered, and Blake gave an exhausted laugh. Trust Weiss to turn her comment into another reason to stay alive.

Dammit, she'd forgotten her keys in the ignition, but the trunk was battered from the car's rolling and a couple more kicks finished the job, sending its contents tumbling into the snow. Well, Yang always said Blake had great legs. Frantically, Blake searched through the mess, her fingers finally clutching onto a road flare that was suddenly more precious to her than life itself. She struck the flare, bringing the clearing around her into stark relief, and that's when she heard it.

A growl, low and menacing, off to her left. Blake whirled, seeking the source of the sound, but she couldn't see anything. Now it came again, to her right, making her spin around again, but this time she could swear the thing was _laughing_ at her. A shadow swiped at her, making her back against the car. Blake knelt down, not taking her eyes off the clearing as her empty hand fumbled for something, anything, to use as a weapon. Her fingers clutched around something, and without thinking, she brandished it in front of her. Good, it was the jack handle. At least that would make a decent club.

"Blake? Are you okay?" Ruby's voice again.

"I'm fine. Just, just chasing shadows. I, I've got a lit road flare in my hand. Hurry, will you?"

"I am driving faster than I should, in this weather. We don't need another accident tonight, do we?"

"I hereby take back every nasty thing I've ever thought or said about you, Weiss," Blake said wearily.

"I trust there weren't too many. You don't seem the type."

Before Blake could answer, the shadows swiped at her again. Blake swung the jack handle at it without thinking, losing her grip on her phone. Dammit, her mind was playing tricks on her. She crouched down, her hands seeking out Ruby's frantic voice.

Suddenly there it was, inches from her face. A bone-white face, red eyes burning with hate, bestial jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth. It snarled at her, inky drool dripping from its jaws.

Blake abandoned her futile search for her phone, the jack handle swinging up to smash into the beast's jaw. It reared back, snarling in rage, and she rolled to one side as its clawed arm swiped at where she'd been. More infuriated now, it turned toward her, but Blake found her feet before it reached her. She lunged forward with the flare, following up by smashing the handle down on its forearm. It staggered back for a moment, seeming almost puzzled by the fact that she'd hurt it.

Something made her turn her head to her right, and what she saw made her despair for the first time tonight. The nightmare beast wasn't alone. Three of them were in plain view, and she could feel more, surrounding the car. _I tried, my love. Maybe that will be enough, to earn me a place by your side in whatever comes after._ What was it Yang had said Ruby called her nightmare monsters. Grimm, that was it. Blake squared up in front of them, road flare in one hand, jack handle in the other, her face a mask of grim determination to sell her life as dearly as possible. "Come and get me, you Grimm bastards," she hissed.

A thump from the direction of the car drew her attention. A blue and white blur sprang over the car, slashing at the one she'd wounded with a blade that burned with an eldritch blue flame. "I told you to stay in the car," Weiss smirked, her right hand tossing the red scarf she wore back over her shoulder. Before Blake could even form a response, Weiss was gone, striking the head off one nightmare beast and whirling to engage another.

"Hey, Blake, I promise we'll explain later, okay?" Ruby said, giving Blake an encouraging smile as she landed next to her. Then the thing in Ruby's hand unfolded into some sort of polearm, this one burning with green flames. With a grin, Ruby was off, charging at a monster that looked somehow more vicious than the others.

"There's a lot of them, Ruby. And these are bigger than we normally handle," Weiss said, dodging one claw swipe and knocking another aside with her blade, taking half the creature's hand off in the process.

"What were we supposed to do, let Blake and Yang die?" Ruby snapped, catching both of the beast in front of her's claws with the haft of her weapon before deflecting them to one side, butt-stroking the beast to help it on its way to the ground. _Plus this way, maybe Blake and Yang will believe me, now. I am_ _ **not**_ _crazy! Just keep telling myself that, I am_ _ **not**_ _crazy!_ Weiss just shook her head and dodged another swipe, darting in with her blade to stab at her opponent.

Blake, on the other hand, had no doubts about her mental state. _I have lost my mind. I have gone as nuts as Yang's sister. Or, better yet, I'm dreaming. I hit my head in the crash and now I'm dreaming. Yes, that's it._ Then the corner of her eye caught a smaller beast, the runt or something, clawing at the car door behind which was Yang. "Oh hells no," Blake snarled, running toward it. Insane or not, dreaming or not, there was no way Blake was going to idly stand by when Yang was in danger. With a warcry that would have done a Valkyrie proud, Blake brought her jack handle down hard on top of the beast's skull, sending it to the forest floor. Before it could get back up, Blake dropped the handle and took the road flare in both hands, driving it deep into the Grimm's eye socket.

The beast writhed in the snow, clawing at its face, not comprehending that the thing causing it pain was inside its head. Blake picked the jack handle back up and swung it again and again, smashing into the Grimm until it lay still. "Can I be done now?" she moaned, collapsing against the car. A moan from within the car brought her back into focus. Yang, she had to keep it together for Yang. "Yang, everything's going to be alright, Ruby and Weiss are here, the ambulance is on its way, just stay there, don't move, okay?" Hopefully Weiss and Ruby had, had called the cops, to deal with these, these things, right? No way they were going to try and take them on themselves, right?

Or maybe not. Blake slumped up against the car and watched as Weiss first relieved her opponent of an arm with a slash to the upper arm, then stabbed it under the chin as it howled in rage, driving her blade up into its brain and pulling back before it collapsed onto the ground. Ruby was no slacker either. The larger one she was facing clawed at her again and again, Ruby blocking or dodging each blow and responding with strikes of her own that Blake was sure would have downed one of the smaller beasts.

Another monster tried to get Ruby from behind, but she dodged, flipping over in midair to plant her feet against a tree and launch herself back in action. She landed on the big one's back, twirling her weapon around to bring the blade end down through the creature's spine, then leaping off to strike at the smaller one even as the larger one collapsed to the ground, howling in agony. "Just a second," Ruby laughed, using her weapon's reach and momentum to decapitate the smaller one in a single blow, its head tumbling away out of sight.

"Grandstanding much?" Weiss sighed, then, "Behind you!" The big one might have been crippled, but it wasn't out of the fight yet. It was dragging itself along toward Ruby, its claws digging deep gouges in the earth. "Stubborn, aren't you?" Ruby jumped to one side, then rebounded off a tree to leap over the thing, obviously attempting to repeat the trick that had crippled the big monster.

This time, though, the Grimm remembered. It rolled on its back while she was in midair, swiping at her with one clawed hand, the awkward blow sending Ruby flying.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled, jumping away from the two facing her to slash at the big one's upraised arm. It howled in rage, swiping down at her and missing horribly as the damaged arm refused to obey its commands.

"Thanks for the setup, Weiss!" Ruby called as she landed on the beast's shoulders, using the force of her landing to drive her polearm's blade deep into its neck.

"Dolt!" Weiss barely had time to get out before the two that had been behind her charged her. The white-haired girl backflipped, opening the range as Ruby landed next to her, boots skidding in the snow. "Left or right?" Ruby asked, sizing up their opponents.

"Right," her partner answered, breathing hard. This had been one of their hardest fights yet. "The terrain on your side's better for that stick of yours."

Ruby just nodded in reply, darting to her left and jabbing at her opponent to draw its attention. Meanwhile, Weiss just shifted her feet and brought her weapon to a high guard, waiting for the Grimm in front of her to attack, giving her an opening.

It was a moment that would be etched in Blake's memory forever. Ruby and Weiss stood there, weapons ready, not a trace of fear in their eyes, just determination and focus. Then, as if by some silent signal, the Grimm facing both of them charged at the same time, howling.

Weiss' foe reached her first, coming at her low, on all fours. As it was rising to claw at her, she dashed to one side, slashing at its neck, nearly decapitating it completely. There was still enough fight in the Grimm for it to turn and face her, skidding on the uneven terrain, claws spread wide, obviously meaning to catch her between them. Weiss just laughed, her blade first going right, then left, taking the monster's hands off and leaving it reeling in pain before she lunged forward, finishing the job of severing its head.

Ruby, on the head, was facing a cannier opponent. It circled her, just out of reach, jumping in to swipe at her, then back out again before she could strike at it. She exhaled hard, her breath turning to fog in the cold night air. Then she drew in a deep breath and set herself, waiting for her moment.

It came. The Grimm came at her, zigzagging, trying to throw her off and create an opening. But it had tried that one too many times, gotten predictable, and that was its undoing. Ruby timed its movements and darted forward, springing at the Grimm like a trap. The end of her polearm sank into its neck and she jerked it upward, the blade coming out of the top of its spine in a spray of black smoke.

"That's the last one, it looks like," Weiss said, her pale blue eyes scanning the forest.

"Might be some little ones, but that's the big ones, yeah. Take the weapons back to your car. I think I hear sirens and we need to get them out of sight." Ruby knelt next to where Blake was collapsed against the car. "Listen, Blake, two things. First, you did really good tonight, getting help. You probably saved my sister's life. But listen to me, you can't tell anyone about the Grimm, okay? You kinda get called crazy for that," she added with a wink. "Maybe this whole thing was just a dream or something. You did take a pretty good knock."

"But-" Blake stopped when she noticed that the big one was dissolving into smoke, the smaller ones almost gone already. "Oh," was all she could think to say.

Stubborn to the last, Blake refused to be loaded up or even treated until Yang was taken care of. The last thing she saw before they loaded her into the back of an ambulance was Ruby and Weiss, standing next to Weiss' car, talking to each other.

* * *

Things were kind of subdued the next morning at the Xiao Long household. Somehow Weiss had ended up staying the night and was currently helping Taiyang in the kitchen. Or trying to anyway. Cooking was not her forte, a lack the white-haired girl was determined to correct, now that she was aware of it. It was just the way she was wired.

Meanwhile Ruby was alternating between setting the table and fussing over her sister. Yang's right arm was broken and in a cast, but that wasn't stopping her from trying to help with lunch. "Come on, sis, let me help," Yang said for the umpteenth time, wincing as she tried to get up from her chair.

"Yang, you were in a car accident. You're battered and sore, and your body needs time to recover. Or did you forget waking up in the emergency room?" Ruby said, pushing her sister back down firmly enough to make Yang wince. Okay, maybe her sister had a point. When did Ruby get so smart? Maybe Weiss was rubbing off on her.

Then Yang remembered the conversation she and Blake were having right before the accident, and she grimaced. No good way out of this, but Yang wasn't going to open that can of worms right now, not until she recovered a bit. And not without Blake to back her up.

The sound of a car pulling up made Yang look out the dining room window. At first, she didn't recognize the car, but then Blake stepped out and Yang smiled. Just the pick-me-up she needed. "Blake's here. Probably checking to see if I'm okay. She looked pretty worried last night." Ruby and Weiss just exchanged a look, unseen by Yang.

Blake didn't even bother to knock, storming into the dining room with rage written on her face. She grabbed Ruby by the front of her dress, sending the plates in Ruby's hands to the floor. "They're real, aren't they?" she snarled.

"W-What are real?" Ruby stammered. She'd planned on talking to Blake, just not right away. Or in front of Yang or her dad.

"Those shadow monsters of yours, Grimm Yang said you call them. That's what they were, the things that attacked us last night, the ones you were fighting. Hell, I'll bet the thing that I swerved to avoid was one of those Grimm, wasn't it? Answer me," Blake hissed, her face inches from Ruby's now.

"Miss Belladonna." Weiss's voice was firm and level. "It's rather hard for Ruby to answer you coherently when you're threatening her like that."

"Blake?" Yang asked, her voice full of confusion.

"She is correct, at least partially. Yes, the Grimm are real, even if most people cannot perceive them. And they can affect the physical world," Weiss added, reaching up to touch the scar on her cheek. "A group of them did attack your car last night, after the wreck, and Ruby and I fought and killed them. May I ask what set you off so violently, Blake? And please, let go of Ruby."

"Birds. Monster birds, swooping over the lake near my house," Blake said, letting go of Ruby, her feline ears flicking in embarrassment. "My mother was fussing over me this morning while my dad called our insurance company, about the car wreck last night. I s-saw the birds and said something about them, I don't remember what, but my parents didn't see them. So I freaked, took my mom's car, came here for answers. Sorry."

"Wait." Yang stood up, forcing herself to her feet with her good arm. "You're telling me Ruby's nightmares are real? And now you see them too, Blake? I just, I just can't believe it. It's nuts, the whole thing's crazy."

"I _see_ them now, Yang," Blake said quietly. "As clearly as I see you, standing there. Well, sort of. I can see through them a little, in bright light. Please, you have to believe me."

"Fuck." Yang looked away, her face a mask of confusion. "Weiss, you see them too? And, and all of Ruby's stories, about them hurting people, they're true?"

"One of them killed Penny, Yang. Right in front of me," Ruby said quietly.

"But they caught the guy!" Yang exclaimed, turning to face them and wincing with the pain.

"No, they caught someone they assumed was responsible. Hazel Rainart was just the wrong man, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He maintains his innocence to this day," Weiss said firmly. "I looked it up."

Suddenly, Yang grabbed Ruby, wrapping her good arm around her sister and sobbing into Ruby's shoulder, repeating the words, "I'm sorry," over and over again. Finally, she stepped back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she looked down at her baby sister. "Ruby, I'm sorry for all the times I called you crazy, and all the times I got mad because I had to take care of you, and for the times I ditched you to go hang out with Blake. I'm sorry for all of it."

"It's okay," Ruby said, her silver eyes twinkling.

The blonde took a deep ragged breath. "Blake, you thinking about joining them, hunting monsters?"

"I guess?" Blake said uncertainly. "I mean, I don't think I could watch them hurting people and not try to do something about it."

"Okay. But you've got to say it. That's my condition for, um, being okay with this."

"Say what?" the cat-eared girl asked, confused.

"You know," Yang replied, giving Blake a wink. "At least to Ruby. And my dad." A gentle cough made her add, "And Weiss too I guess, since she's here."

Blake grimaced. Well, it had to happen sooner or later. "Fine. Yang and I are g-g-girlfriends. There, I said it." She looked around, watching everyone's reactions. Ruby and Weiss just kind of looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well, I guess I'm probably the dumbest dad in history, or at least the most oblivious." Everyone jumped as they realized that Taiyang was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, and had probably heard everything. "So it's all true, Ruby? Everything?"

Ruby shrank back, looking for somewhere to hide, but before panic could really take hold, a hand landed on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Weiss standing there, giving her probably the warmest smile she'd ever seen from the white-haired girl. Ruby took a deep breath and turned to look at her dad again. "Everything, dad. Well, there's more to it than you know, but if you're willing to let me explain, to believe me, then I'm willing to talk."

Tai just nodded, a warm smile on his face. "We've got a lot to sort out, don't we, Ruby?"

"Yeah."

"Listen, Ruby," Yang said after a long moment, "it's gonna be a few weeks till my arm heals, but once it does, think you could teach me all your sick monster-killing moves? What, you think I'm gonna let my baby sister and my girlfriend do this without me? Or admit the Ice Queen can do something I can't? So I'm joining you, right?" she added, when the other three girls looked at her, then each other."

"But Yang," Ruby said quietly, "I don't think you can."


	10. Chapter 10

"So who's winning?"

Yang barely looked at her dad as she took the cup of coffee from him. "Ruby, but only because Blake forgot how much reach that stick of hers has."

Taiyang just grunted in acknowledgment as he sat down next to her to watch the three 'Huntresses' training in the yard. Right now they were playing a version of 'queen of the hill' Ruby had devised. The rules were simple: They'd stand equally spaced halfway between the edge and the center of the practice ring with their eyes closed and backs to the middle. At the start signal, they'd go after each other in a no-holds-barred free-for-all. Well, to a point. Taiyang had put his foot down about sparring with live steel, especially since Blake didn't have a weapon to match Ruby and Weiss' yet. Bruises were a lot easier to explain than sword cuts. So Blake and Weiss were both fighting with something Blake had called a 'broken' and Ruby with some sort of staff.

"Hey, sis, you wanna start the round?" Ruby's voice carried across the crisp morning air. "Standing around like this is kinda chilly."

"One sec, dad brought me coffee, and I've only got one good hand, remember?" Reluctantly Yang set down her cup and picked up the air horn, giving it a toot. Immediately the three sprang into motion, and Yang shook her head. Looked like both Ruby and Blake had decided that Weiss was due for a beating this time. Well, to be fair, Weiss had won the last two rounds.

Ruby charged through the ankle-deep snow, jumping onto one of the pieces of Grandpa's junk had been hauled out into the play area to make things more interesting. Seeing Weiss already under assault by Blake, Ruby took a deep breath, set herself, then jumped into the air weapon held high to strike.

And that was another thing to get used to. It turned out that not only did whatever magic trick the other three had let you see Grimm it also let bounce around like somebody out of those ridiculous cartoons Ruby was always watching. Hell, you healed faster too. Blake had recovered from the battering she'd gotten in the crash in a couple of days. Thinking back, Yang had to admit that Ruby had never been clumsy, or even really gotten sick. Never broken a bone or anything. _And here I am, still stuck in a cast,_ the blonde thought to herself resentfully. _Bet my arm would be healed by now, if…_

Yang took a sip of her coffee to cover the scowl on her face. Her sister's words from the morning after the crash had proven prophetic. While Blake could somehow now see Grimm, Yang couldn't, so Tai had laid down the law: No fighting Grimm for Yang. Period, no arguments. He might let her spar with the others once her arm was completely healed, but not before.

Out on the field, Weiss seemed to have seen Ruby's leaping attack, and rolled to one side, dodging both Blake and Ruby. Her sneak attack spoiled, Ruby just redirected herself to Blake, coming down on the cat-eared girl with a blow that would have driven Blake to her knees if it connected. Instead, Blake blocked, her knees still buckling slightly from the force of the blow. Weiss took advantage of the moment to come behind Blake, striking her squarely in the middle of her back, Yang winced; fast healing or not, that had to _hurt._ She'd be sure to show Blake some extra affection later.

"So how's the arm this morning?" Tai asked as Blake let her weapon slide out from under Ruby's and spun toward Weiss, obviously intent on some payback on the ice queen.

"Damn cast itches," Yang growled. Out on the field, Ruby was hanging back for a moment, watching as Weiss and Blake traded blows, gauging whether it was better to jump in or let the two of them exhaust themselves on each other. 'Doc says I'm healing fine, but I've still got at least a month to go. Can't wait till I can join them out there."

"Yang… I'm kinda glad you can't."

"Say what?" Yang's head whipped around to stare at her dad, slack-jawed, as Ruby finally made her move. She darted in, coming high to catch high with one end of her staff to catch Weiss upside the head in a blow that left the white-haired girl staggering backward. Lightning-quick the staff's other darted toward Blake, catching her squarely in the middle the chest, but Blake took it better than Weiss had. With a grunt, Blake just brought her sword under Ruby's guard, hitting her squarely in the gut. The two pulled back from each other, weapons at the ready, while Weiss leaned against one of the obstacles, her weapon hanging limply in her hand and clearly out of it for now. "I thought you were cool with all of this."

Taiyang barked a laugh. "At first I was kinda… relieved. What father wouldn't be relieved to hear that his daughter wasn't crazy, that there was an actual reasonable explanation for all her bizarre behavior? But then I started thinking about it, and it kinda scares me. We don't know anything about Grimm, just myths and legends, and the 'magic' Ruby's managed to piece together is flaky at best."

"But then-"

"-why let it continue?" Tai gestured toward the practice ring where Ruby and Blake were exchanging blows, neither of them backing down and each giving as good as they got. "Well, I don't think Ruby would stop even if asked her to, and the only way to make her stop is to lock her away. I don't want to do that to her again, it'd kill her. She might still be breathing, but that special spark that makes Ruby Ruby would be gone. And if I went to Blake or Weiss' parents to try and stop them from hunting, they'd think I was nuts. You surprise me, though."

"Huh? I haven't done anything."

"Yeah, you did." Now her father looked Yang in the eye. "Looking back, it's pretty obvious how much you and Blake mean to each other. So why'd you let her do this?"

"Because..." Yang sighed. "Because she's everything to me, and I want everyone to know it. It's been over a year and we're still keeping it quiet. I guess I was getting a little desperate to hear her say something, anything, about how she felt about me out loud."

Tai nodded slowly. "I can understand that, I guess. But I do have one question: Are the two of you… sexually active?"

"Dad!" Yang yelled, her face flushed. "That's, that's kinda personal, isn't it?"

"It's the kind of thing dads ask because we kinda have to." Her father's face was kind, but she could have sworn there was a twinkle of amusement in his eye. "So, yes or no?"

Yang took a deep breath. "Y-yeah, we are." Yang was sure her face was about to burst into flames as she remembered the first time they'd found themselves alone after the accident. Blake had been feeling _very_ frisky, even with having to be careful of Yang's arm.

"Okay." Taiyang took a deep breath. I can't stop you, any more than I can stop them from hunting Grimm. But, just be careful, okay? And keep the noise down, an old man needs his sleep."

"You're not that old, dad," Yang said, playfully jabbing him with an elbow. "So, so you're cool, with me and Blake, I mean?"

"Cooler than I am with this," he replied, gesturing with his cup at Ruby and Blake, who were still squaring off, strikes almost faster than the eye could see. Suddenly Blake's sword lashed out, going for Ruby's ankle. But Ruby jumped over it, bringing her staff around to catch Blake's ankle and send her sprawling to the ground. Blake rolled over in the snow to find the end of Ruby's staff inches from her nose.

"And I think that's my cue," Taiyang said, standing up. "Girls," he yelled, "That's enough for now. Time for lunch."

* * *

"So what's the plan for the afternoon? Bookwork?" Taiyang asked as he set the pot of stew on the table. One thing he'd learned, the girls needed to be well-fed for kicking invisible demon ass. "Because I'm pretty sure sparring is out the window, Weiss looks like she could use a break." Weiss just nodded carefully, careful not to dislodge her ice pack.

"S-sorry, Weiss," Ruby said, reaching a hand toward Weiss's head.

Weiss started to bat the hand away, but instead wrapped her hand around Ruby's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "D-dolt, it's as much my fault as yours, for forgetting how long that stick of yours is."

"Still, I did hit you kinda hard," Ruby said, her eyes fixed on Weiss a bit longer than necessary. Then she shook her head. "No, dad, no sparring for Weiss. She's been trying to find someone to make us armored coats, to help keep us safe when we fight Grimm."

"Hey, is the Ice Queen fit to drive? Because if she's not, I can drive her. I'm pretty good at driving one-handed," Yang added, helping herself to the stew while she fought to keep a smirk off her face. When Weiss had started coming around, Yang had been pretty sure she was Ruby's first crush and didn't know if she was looking forward to or dreading Ruby's inevitable crackup on Schnee Reef. But they did seem to genuinely get along, and now all the time they were spending together made at least some sense. But every now and again she'd catch one of them giving the other an odd look.

"The swelling has already gone down a lot, I should be fine in half an hour. And if this pair's reputation can be believed, they're skilled but rather odd," Weiss replied, pulling the ice pack away and probing the side of her head gently.

"So, is it study time then or do I have a date with the scanner?" the blonde asked, taking a bite of the stew. She was hoping for study time. It was the one part of the whole 'hunting Grimm' thing she could join in on, and she got to spend it with Blake. Bonus. Scanning in Ruby's notebooks was on par with watching paint dry.

"Neither." Ruby bounced away from the table, coming back with a long cloth-wrapped bundle. "I called in a favor with a friend of mine, and he sent me this." She undid the ties holding the cloth together, revealing a sword in a jet-black wooden scabbard. "It didn't take me as long to do the spells and stuff this time, so maybe I'm getting better at this. I hope you like it, Blake."

Blake found her breath stuck in her throat as her hand stopped, inches from the sword. "It-it's _mine?_ " she asked, her voice squeaking on the last word. Ruby just nodded.

Hesitantly, Blake picked up the sword, drawing the blade from the scabbard. The hilt was wrapped in purple and black, her favorite colors, and just rough enough to keep her grip from slipping. She took it into the living room and gave it an experimental swing, noting the sword's light weight, chiseled point, and single cutting edge. "A katana?"

"I suggested the style of blade since I remembered that you used to do kendo," Weiss said, with a smile. "I take it you approve?"

An unashamed grin spread across Blake's face. "Absolutely. What's its name, what does it do?"

"Standard flaming and no-notice spells, I'm working on something else for it, but I wanted to give you a chance to get used to it as fast as possible."

" _Incendio,"_ Blake whispered, remembering it from when Ruby and Weiss demonstrated their weapons, and laughing with delight as purple flames danced along the blade. "Beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as the lady holding the blade," Yang said, walking over and peering closely at the sword. "So, this thing, it's on fire now, but I can't see it?" She reached over and poked at it, pulling her hand back before it reached the blade. "Damn thing's hot, though. Stupid question, why the fire?"

"Grim hate fire. Normal fire works, but magic fire's better," Ruby answered with a shrug.

Tai cleared his throat. "Okay, so shiny new toy Blake needs to practice with. So live steel practice this afternoon for Blake and Ruby so Blake can get used to her new sword, check. Shopping trip for Weiss, check. Yang, you wanna watch your girlfriend and your sister beat on each other, or do some more grunt work?"

"Actually," an idea was forming in Yang's mind, "I think I'll head into town if I can borrow your truck, dad. I can't ride my bike with one arm, after all. I want to go see a friend of mine."

* * *

Weiss blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light coming from the skylights. "Hello?" she called, her voice echoing across the cavernous space and bouncing off the half-seen shapes looming in the darkness. "Is anyone here? I was told you could do some custom fabrication for me."

"Hi.' A blonde man poked his head out from behind some machine or another. "Give me just a second, I'm just taping his mouth shut now."

"What do you mean-oh." When Weiss followed him, she could see a man with blue hair and goggles pushed up on his forehead duct-taped to a chair. The blonde man sighed as he put a final piece of tape over the other man's mouth. "Sorry about that, but Neptune, his brain's pretty much stuck on 'flirt' when it comes to women. Doesn't know how to turn it off. I'm Sun, by the way. So, you're Weiss, right?"

"Correct," she answered, shaking his hand when he offered it. "I need some unique coats and I was told you can make them for me."

"Yup, yup, armored coats that don't look armored, and can pass for everyday wear." Sun hopped up on a counter, snagging a nearby coffee cup with his tail. "So, questions: This for winter use, or year-round? If it's year-round, might have to go with a removable liner. And you said you were thinking chain-mail, but how's Kevlar or something like that sound? Lighter, easier to move in, less bulky, and less likely to be discovered if someone hugs you or something."

"I-" Weiss stopped, not liking how Neptune was looking at her. "He's imagining me naked, isn't he?"

"Probably. Or at least scantily clad. If it makes you less uncomfortable, I can push his chair into the closet."

"No need." Weiss took the coffee cup Sun handed her, making an effort not to wince as he used his tail to pour. "I'm not sure about using different materials for armor; there are other factors in play. It might be best if I can take a sample to someone else to consult. I assume you can also do embroidery? Color-matched to the cloth?" Neptune was nodding his head. "Wonderful."

"Yep, we've got a machine that can embroider whatever you want on the cover. All we need is the measurements, a decision on the actual armor for which I am more than willing to give you samples, and we can get started." Sun grinned and decided it was worth the risk. "So, just to torture Neptune and get it out of his system, he doesn't stand a chance, does he?"

"No." Weiss' voice was firm, with just that hint of regret to show she didn't want to give bad news, but… "I'm in a very committed relationship right now, and it's very unlikely that your friend has what it would take to change that." Especially since Neptune seemed oblivious to the palm-sized Nevermore that had just swooped down and was pecking at his head. It was hard to ignore the little creature, but breaking out her gear and killing it would be obvious. Maybe she'd come back later when they were closed and set up some traps and wards.

* * *

"Are you sure she's ready for this?"

Yang beat her dad to the punch by about half a second, but his doubt was clear on his face. "I mean," she continued, "Blake's only been training for what, two weeks? And her weapon hasn't even really been tested yet."

"She did well in her first encounter with Grimm, especially under the circumstances. And I've done daylight reconnaissance; the Grimm presence should be rather light," Weiss answered with a sniff.

"There's no real certification or graduation for this sort of thing, Yang." Blake's voice was sad as if her heart was torn in two. "There has to be a first time for me, sometime, right?"

"I..." Yang faltered as she saw the frightened but determined look in Blake's eyes. She knew Blake would stay if she said so, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to do that to Blake. "Yeah, she has been kicking your asses, hasn't she? Fine, but if you get into too much trouble, you run, right?"

"That's the plan," Ruby said, smiling.

"If I may continue…. I think I've found the catalyzing event for the park's Grimm population." Weiss paused; this part was ugly. "Sixteen years ago, a young woman was raped while jogging in the park. She gave birth, put the child up for adoption, then confronted her rapist in the park and killed him, then herself. If, if what happened with my father is any guideline, that may be what spawned our Grimm."

Blake grimaced and Yang whistled. "Stone cold. Yeah, that should do it. When are you going?"

"Tonight, at about ten o'clock. Doing this in a public place is a first for us, but being there that late should help with witnesses."

Ruby jabbed Weiss in the ribs with her elbow. "Pfft, lots of things are firsts for us, Weiss. This should be easy-Schneezy."

Yang chortled at the mortified look on Weiss' face, then grinned. "Okay, let's go over what we know, and what we think we know, one more time. Then I'd like to spend some time alone with my kitty-cat until you leave if it's okay with the rest of you."

* * *

Taiyang just waved as Weiss' car headed out, the three Huntresses on board. "You're worried about them too, aren't you, my sunny little dragon?"

"Yeah, but," Yang shrugged with the arm not in a cast, "like you said, what can we do? We can't stop them, and neither of us can see Grimm, so we can't fight with them." She stood up from where she sat on the stairs. "No use waiting up for them, so I'm going to head to bed and try to sleep. See you when they get home."

He was just brushing his teeth when he heard his truck starting outside. Running to the front door, Taiyang thought he saw a familiar mane of blonde hair. And when he checked upstairs, Yang was missing from her bed.

It made him chuckle. Whether she could fight beside them or not, Yang was going to look after the three of them. No sense even trying to sleep now. Might as well see what's on TV. Maybe a cheesy sci-fi movie or something. Not horror.

In the truck, Yang glanced at the bag sitting next to her on the bench seat. No time to lose, they had a head start. She pressed the gas pedal a little harder.

* * *

 **Did you miss me? Sorry, work's been crazy. Oh Yang, what are you up to?**


End file.
